One day, a lawyer came to test Jesus and asked:

"Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus answered with another question:

"What is written in the Law? How do you read it?"

The lawyer replied:

"You have answered well," said Jesus. "Do this, and you will live."

But the man, wanting to justify himself, asked:

"And who is my neighbor?"

That was when Jesus told this story.

The poor man had been robbed, beaten, and left on the road, nearly dead. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was known to be dangerous: a lonely path, full of bends, winding down through the mountains, where robbers often hid to attack travelers.

And now that man lay there, alone, wounded, unable to move. Would anyone help him?

A priest — someone who served God in the Temple. Surely he would help, wouldn't he? But no. The priest saw the wounded man and crossed to the other side of the road, going on his way as if he had seen nothing.

Why didn't he stop? Perhaps he was afraid of being attacked too. Perhaps he was in a hurry, or thought that touching a wounded man would make him unclean under the law. Or perhaps he simply did not want to get involved. Either way, he saw someone who badly needed help, and he did nothing.

Then came a Levite, another religious man who worked in the Temple. He also saw the wounded man — perhaps he even stepped a little closer to look — but then he went on his way without helping.

Two religious men, who knew the commandment to love their neighbor well, and neither of them stopped. The poor man lay there still, suffering, waiting for someone to take pity on him.

And here comes the great surprise of the story. A Samaritan — and the Jews and the Samaritans were enemies who did not speak to one another; a Jew would never expect help from a Samaritan. But when that Samaritan saw the wounded man, his heart filled with compassion. He did not ask whether the man was a Jew or an enemy. He saw only a human being who was suffering and needed help. And he acted.

The Samaritan did not just tend the man's wounds. He set him on his own animal while he walked on foot, brought him to an inn, and kept caring for him. And the next day:

Two denarii were worth two days of a worker's wages. The Samaritan gave his own money and promised to pay even more if it was needed. He did not say, "I have done my part" — he made sure the man would go on being cared for.

After telling this story, Jesus asked the lawyer:

The lawyer answered:

"The one who showed mercy toward him."

And Jesus said:

Notice how Jesus turned the question around. The lawyer wanted to know "who is my neighbor," as if some people deserved help and others did not. Jesus showed something else: the real question is whose neighbor we choose to be. Our neighbor is anyone who needs us, whoever they may be.

The Samaritan did not stop at feeling compassion: he interrupted his journey, tended the wounds, gave up his mount, spent his own money. True love shows itself in deeds, and sometimes it costs time, comfort, and effort. It was a stranger, thought of as an enemy, who taught everyone what it means to love. That is why Jesus ended with an invitation that still stands today, for each one of us: to go and do the same.