“Who do you identify with in the story of the Good Samaritan? Most of us aspire to be the good guy. But what if we are the one lying in the ditch? Years ago I was robbed in Malaysia. My friends pooled their money, but didn’t have enough for me to continue the trip. They had just enough to get me back to Thailand, where we were Peace Corps volunteers, and a hotel for a night. My hotel was seedy, but because I was white I got away with hanging out at the pool at the expensive nice hotel. There I met a Thai woman, whose Australian “boyfriend” worked nearby. She was a prostitute. When she heard my story she insisted they take me to dinner. The next morning she appeared at my hotel with breakfast, a packed lunch for my bus ride that day, and extra money in case of an emergency. Samaritans were reviled by Jews in Jesus’ day. Prostitutes are looked down on today. Who was my neighbor? The one who showed mercy. The prostitute.”
By The Rev. Tricia Templeton, St. Dunstan’s Atlanta