"And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee" (Luke 10:35 KJV). And lo the innkeeper did say "Art thou crazy?
The injured man is but a youth who will eat me out of house and home before your return. Let me see thine credit card." Whereupon the Samaritan handed over his Visa and left.
The Levite
Upon his travels the Samaritan did meet up with the Levite, who had seen the injured man but had walked on the other side. The Samaritan did take the Levite by the front of his tunic and said, "Didst thou not see the injured man? What werest thou thinking?"
The Levite, who himself was but a youth, spoke to the Samaritan, saying, "Yea, I did see the injured man, but he was gross and bloody, and this is a new tunic I am wearing. I had homework. I was thinking spiritual thoughts and missed the injured man. Did not my own mother tellest me not to speak to strangers? Are there not shelters and government programs to take care of such things? Why did the injured man not report the beating to the police?"
The Priest
The Samaritan released the Levite, in blue jeans, for he could bear the excuses no longer. He continued to journey down the road where he met the priest going the opposite direction. The Samaritan did also take the priest by the front of his tunic and say, "Didst thou not notice the injured man when ye journeyed past earlier? Art thou not a minister and required to help?"
The priest responded to him, saying, "Upon my arrival to my church I placed an order upon our youth minister to organize a committee that will reach out to the injured and the homeless within our community. It will be in three month's time and will provide addresses and phone numbers of various charitable organizations in our community where people can get help. We don't offer food ourselves because then every homeless and injured person for miles around will show up at our door."
The Robbers
The Samaritan released the priest and turned away in disgust. As he traveled down the road he met two robbers who were wearing the clothing described by the injured man and were leading the injured man's donkey. The Samaritan did call out to them and struck his fighting stance. And lo did he make that cool "bring it on" motion with his hand. The robbers attacked, and the Samaritan did "open up a can" on the robbers. And he did leave them by the side of the road.
The Injured Man
Upon his return to the hotel the Samaritan did find that the injured youth had left the inn, skipping out on his bill and racking up considerable Spice channel charges. The Samaritan did exclaim, "Where dost thou get off charging six dollars for coffee and toast? This is not an Adam's Mark!"
Whereupon the clerk did say, "Don't tell me; I just work here."
The Disciples
When Jesus finished his story, he said unto his disciples, "Who was the man's neighbor?"
And Peter did reply, "Which man are we talking about, the innkeeper or one of the robbers?"
Then James spake saying, "Weren't we talking about seeds just a second ago?"
Andrew asked, "Do you think you ought to use a priest in this story? I mean, aren't we in enough trouble?"
And John did say, "Are we having snacks tonight?"
Responding thus to the stories of Jesus did make him wonder about the spiritual development of his youth group. And lo did Jesus wander off by himself for forty days and forty nights where he slept soundly for the first time in weeks.
Originally published in the 2004 issue of YouthWorker Journal, copyright 2006, Youth Specialties. Reprinted/used with permission.
