Hospitality : Case study- The Good Samaritan
Hospitality
By the English Oxford Dictionary “Hospitality means the act or service of welcoming or entertaining guests; an appropriate attitude of openness and generosity towards guests”. Left for me, the best means of evangelism in this 21st century is by hospitality. You may preach to someone and he or she may forget but no one forgets the kind act someone had shown him or her in the past.
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Heb 13:1 NIV
Abraham entertained angels in the form of strangers and his household was blessed because of that act of hospitality to those strangers.
10 Then one of them said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son.” Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Genesis 18: 1-10 KJV
Before we dive into the topic, it is important to know the relationship between Jews and Samaritans. The Samaritans were not only outcasts but they were despised enemies of the Jews. The Jews would not allow the Samaritans to enter the temple to worship. The Segregation was real!
The parable of the Good Samaritan is recorded in Luke 10:30-37 and it was a parable told by Jesus.
A Jewish man was taking a trip from Jerusalem to Jericho alone and was attacked by robbers. He was beaten, wounded and was robbed of all his belongings. He was left by the roadside almost half died.
While bleeding and half dead, a Jewish priest passed by. He saw the Jewish man half dead but he continued his journey without stopping by to help him. The next passerby was a Levite and he did same thing the priest did.
Finally, a Samaritan passed by, he was touched to see the man wounded. He picked him up and took to the inn for treatment and paid every bill it incurred. The Jews and the Samaritans hated each other and have considered each other enemies for centuries.
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I expect the Samaritan to pass by without even looking pity upon the injured Jewish man but no, he was compassionate.
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This story of the Good Samaritan is a parable that tells us to help those in need no matter the tribe, religion, country or race. We are all children of God. We should not be like the priest and the Levite who saw the Jewish man wounded but could not offer help.