In response to a question by a lawyer – Who is my neighbour? – Jesus tells a parable about a man who needs help. Of those who had the opportunity, only a Samaritan did so; and Samaritans and Jews disliked each other intensely. By his actions, the man showed that he was not only a good Samaritan but a good neighbour. Jesus says to the lawyer, ‘Go and do likewise.’
We often think of this story in terms of the men who didn’t ‘do the right thing’ and one, the Samaritan, who did. But the overall story starts with the lawyer who asked for a deeper understanding of ‘doing the right thing’, and Jesus’ parable and its challenge to his assumptions is the answer. The story can help us to re-examine our assumptions and responses too.

This week we explore a common question: what is the right thing to do?