Just say to anyone "The Good Samaritan" and they will know what you are referring to. This phrase, "The Good Samaritan" has come to mean a person who does a good deed. There is truth in this observation, but it barely scratches the surface. The parable the Good Samaritan has many layers of truth: a Jew is assaulted: two religious leaders avoid helping him since they don't want to become ritually impure by possibly touching a corpse, a "foreigner," a hated enemy of the Jews, a Samaritan, STOPS, lifts him up, takes him to an inn to be cared for, makes certain that this happens no matter what it might cost him. This is so much more than about doing a good deed. It is about experiencing and encountering God in the person we least expect: the one we despise or the one who despises us. This challenge is not only for individuals, but for communites and nations. How might YOU become a "foreigner," reaching out in compassion to one who is "outside" your circle of comfort.