The Parable of the Good Samaritan, remixed...

On one occasion, a student of Scripture stood up to debate another."Why do you think we should care about people who are in great need?"The other answered,"Isn't that included in God's command to love your neighbor as yourself?"But wishing to justify himself, the student of Scripture said, "You and I both know it is so much more complicated than that."In reply, the other said,"A man was staying in an inn in Jericho after having been beaten, stripped, left for dead by robbers and then rescued by a stranger. A priest happened to be staying in the same inn, as well as a Levite and some of their friends. That night, sitting at dinner together, they discussed what it meant to love their neighbor as they stared at a certain Samaritan eating alone at a table across the room. The priest, turning from the Samaritan to his friend the Levite, said, "how selfish of that Samaritan, it's obvious he is simply doing this for his own glory and to make us feel guilty." The Levite hearing this, responded, "how foolish of that Samaritan, to take that kind of risk on himself and ignore his responsibility to his own family." The priest's and Levite's friends agreed, "not to mention how proud, for him to think that he can help someone, it's clear he thinks he is better than the Jew."But the Samaritan, simply closed his eyes and prayed, "God thank you for your mercy to this sinner, help me to follow your example."Which of these do you think understood God's command to love their neighbor and was done with making excuses?The student of Scripture replied, "The one who recognized God's own mercy in his life and tried to show that same mercy to others."To which the other told him, "Go and do likewise."