Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan must be one of the most familiar passages in the Bible. The main thrust of the message seems to be about being a neighbor, but I believe it also was meant to be a condemnation of bigotry. The Jews hated the Samaritans with a passion.
If Jesus wanted to give us afresh the message found in the Good Samaritan parable, who would he mention instead of the Samaritan? A person with a different skin color? A person born LGBT? A woman who had experienced abortion? A person from a poor country?
Donald Trump recently made some bigoted comments about four congresswomen, suggesting they hate the United States and that they should leave. For several months, he has made many hateful comments about the miserable refugees on the border with Mexico. For Trump, the message of hate seems designed to stir up his base more than to show any concern for border security.
It’s good to see some Christians speaking out against these comments. However, some of the more prominent evangelicals are silent.
In 1980, my helicopter flight crew at Fort Chafee, Ark., was helping with the influx of Cuban refugees. One day, my co-pilot and I were eating lunch off post and some tourists, noticing our flight uniforms, stopped at our table. They wanted to know, “What are these, these refugees like?”
My co-pilot replied, “They are people, human beings, just like you and me.”
Carl Hess
Ozark, AL
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