The Good Samaritan 2.0

After hearing a few of Pete Rollins' parables retold, I became inspired to try one for myself.  Since I said that I would offer any scripts or such that we have used in our church in the hopes that someone else might find them useful, I offer this one here:

The Good Samaritan 2.0

by Steven T. Norris

One person reads the story while others act out what is being said.

On one occasion, a well-known Pastor was speaking at a Wednesday night prayer meeting.  One of the prayer warriors of the church asked him a question.  "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"What is written in the scriptures?" the pastor replied. "How do you read it?"

He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

"You have answered correctly," he replied. "Do this and you will live."

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked the pastor, "And who is my neighbor?"

In reply, the pastor said: "There was once a young teen.  This teen was from a broken home and had experienced much neglect and rejection from her family and suffered from poor self esteem.  She went in search of anyone who would accept her for who she was.  Quickly she found herself in the midst of a difficult crowd, pressured into things she never thought she would do - a drink here and there, which led to drugs, to shoplifting, and much worse things.  She dressed to try to hide her shame.  Her self-esteem fell further, even to the point of abusing her own body.

“One Friday night at the school football game, this girl was standing off by herself.  A parent and her child from the local church walked by.  This parent had gone to great lengths to raise her children in a Christlike way - sending them Christian schools, praying together every night, keeping a close watch on their friends, and protecting them from unnecessary temptations.  Fearing that this young teen might negatively influence her child, the parent passed by on the other side of the sidewalk, keeping her child from interacting with this girl.

“Soon after, a youth group came walking up the same sidewalk.  This youth leader had a great heart for teens.  He knew that many of them just needed someone to show love and he wanted to reach out, but he remembered the complaints he had been getting.  He remembered that some of the people at the church didn’t approve of the new teens he was bringing in.  These kids didn’t act right, dress right, or talk right.  He really couldn’t afford to bring one more kid like that into the church.  So, fearing more for his job than the life of this girl, he distracted the group and they passed by on the other side of the sidewalk.

After that, a retired man from the church walked by.  He saw the girl, not paying attention to the wild clothes, colorful hair, and scary makeup, but seeing the hurt in her eyes.  He introduced himself to her, learned her name, and listened to her story.  He introduced her to his wife and the couple became unlikely friends with this teenage girl.  They spent time together, going out of their way to take a genuine interest in who this girl was.

"Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the girl looking for acceptance?”

The prayer warrior replied, "The man who had mercy on her."

The pastor told him, "Go and do likewise.  For I was that teenager.  I was hungry and someone fed me.  I was thirsty and someone gave me drink.  I was a stranger and someone welcomed me.  I was naked and someone clothed me.  I was sick and someone visited me.  I was in prison and someone came to meet me where I was.  Just as Jesus said, ‘as you’ve done it to least of these my brothers and sisters, you’ve done to me.’ "