Jesus was intentional . . . and shocking . . . when He taught His followers to love their neighbors and made the hero of His story a SAMARITAN. The Samaritans were despised by Jesus’ fellow citizens even as many people today despise those who are different from them. The Samaritans were different in their ethnicity and religious.

So powerful was Jesus’ story that 2000 years later those who help strangers are often called “Good Samaritans” even by many who make no profession of being Jesus’ followers.

Jesus made certain we would understand that loving our neighbor includes those who are ethnically and religiously different than we are. Important to remember are the persistent commands in Scripture to love and care for immigrants often designated “strangers” and “aliens.”

Based on the teachings of Jesus and the Scriptures, Christians should be loud in their condemnation of the horrific White Nationalist attack on Muslims in New Zeeland this week. The perpetrators’ pre-published manifesto railed against Muslims and immigrants and stated their intent to defend their land from “invaders” and to “directly reduce immigration rates.” They cited right-wing extremists in the United States and indicated they were following the example of the man who killed nine black church goers in Charleston SC in 2015 and echoed the language of the Torch-bearing marchers in Charlottesville in 2017.

If Jesus told the story today, I wonder if it would be “the Good Muslim” or “the Good Immigrant”? I suspect those would be today’s cultural equivalent of “the Good Samaritan.”

Followers of Jesus – let our reputations be that of Good Samaritans and let us stand against the rhetoric that evil people take as legitimizing their intolerance, hatred, and even violence.

“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).