But
wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus
replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he contracted an
illness that left him with a compromised immune system.
“Now
by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he wore no
mask and did not maintain six feet of distance. ‘I’m not sick,’ he thought,
since he clearly had no symptoms, ‘So there’s really no need.’
“So
likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, wore no mask and did
not maintain six feet of distance. ‘Since I am free to choose how to live my
life, I can do as I please,’ he said.
“But
a Samaritan while traveling with a mask on did not come near him; and when he
saw him, he greeted him with a wave from a safe distance. He asked how the man
was feeling, and if the man needed anything. Then he did not put him on his own
animal since that would have violated distancing guidelines, but rather walked
along the road with him a while, always staying a minimum of six feet away.
“The
next day he took out two denarii, donated them to Doctors Without Borders, and
said, ‘Thank you for taking care of so many people; and when I come back, I
will donate whatever more I possibly can.’
“Which
of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands
of the robbers?”
He
said, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Jesus
said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
