A Fresh Look at the Good Samaritan

An Advertisement for the Get On The Bus program that brings spouses and children to visit their incarcerated parents.

This Sunday's Gospel is the story of the good Samaritan. (Luke 10: 25-37) Tonight is Bible Sharing, so I was reviewing our topic.  What I find as an invaluable tool in understanding scripture is Dr. John J. Pilch.  He is a biblical scholar concentrating on cultural-historical background.  Regarding the good Samaritan, everyone learns the lesson to help your neighbor. However, Dr. Pilch took me even deeper; I now have an ever greater admiration for this good Samaritan. Did you notice that the wounded man was naked?  That means that you couldn't tell whether he was a Jew or a Samaritan.  So the Samaritan had compassion on the man, not knowing whether the wounded man was friend or foe. ( It gets even better!)  After ministering to the wounded man, and after taking care of his needs and future needs, this Samaritan (I emphasize: this GOOD Samaritan.) was taking a considerable (and possibly foolhardy) chance.  Think about it.  Think Levitican Law. "An eye for an eye..."

If this wounded man was Jewish, and he died under the care of this Samaritan, this very Good Samaritan would have been killed by the deceased relatives.  It was the law.  They would have been obligated to kill him, regarding whatever good intentions a passerby may have had.  (This happens today. Bystanders hesitate to help for fear of being sued--and they sometimes are, regardless of Good Samaritan Laws.)  And I think due to the political climate in Jesus' times, the Jews would readily have killed the Samaritan.

Knowing this, would you have helped this wounded man in the ditch?  Also, do you have more empathy for the priest and Levite who passed him by?

Get On The Bus

To me Get on The Bus isn't the movie.  It's a prison program.  A few years ago, I met the person who started the program, Sister Suzanne Jabro, CSJ., at a prison ministry program at Boston College.  Sister works in California. Their prisons are isolated with no public transportation.  So families often don't get to visit their incarcerated loved ones.

One Mother's Day, Sister Suzanne decided to do something about the situation.  She got a bus to bring the inmate's children to visit their mothers.  It was such a wonderful experience, that the idea caught on.

Today, the "Get on the Bus" program gives free transportation for children and their caregivers to visit their parents' prison.  The children get travel bags and the caregivers get comfort bags.  Photos are taken of the day.  Meals with parents and children are provided.  The visit is for four hours.  Each child receives a teddy bear, with a personal letter from their parent.

Post-event counseling is given.

Last week, at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, I was blessed to take this picture of the Get On The Bus People.  May God bless them and those they serve.

Prison Ministry

I had a great time today hanging out with people who care about things that I care about.  I went to a program at Boston College's Jesuit Prison Ministry Initiative.  The Church in the 21st Century sponsored the program "You Visited Me: The Urgent Challenge of Prison Ministry."

We were welcomed by two friends of my "cloistered brothers:"  Thomas Groome and John McDargh.  They're theology profs.  They both have visited my chapter.  The major Talk was by Sister Suzanne Jabro, CSJ.  She is the founder of Restorative Justice Works in California.  She started the Get on the Bus program.  And that's what she talked about.

The prisons in California are situated in remote areas.  They are difficult to get to because there's no public transportation  nearby.  Sister Suzanne arranged for children to take her bus to visit their incarcerated parents.  Some parents hadn't seen their children for 10 years.  I teared up watching the video of the kids seeing their mothers.

After the speaking part of the program, there were Breakout Sessions.  In my session, I met a Deacon who was also a retired sheriff.  He handed me his business card. I was shocked to see this picture on it.  I was shocked because my "cloistered brother," Marco drew this picture.  I asked the Deacon, how he got this picture, he said his friend Dan drew it.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look above Jesus shoulder.  See in the bottom of the cinder block, the name Marco.  Well, wait till I tell Marco this story.