There once was a Jewish businessman, named Sol, who occasionally went to Damascus on business.  However in those days there weren’t horses in that part of the world and only the very rich had donkeys.  Thus, Sol had to travel through the mountains from his home city of Jerusalem to Damascus and return, on foot!  
Remember that at this time 10 of the tribes of Israel had left and gone north.  Many of them had taken on some of the religious traits of the “Arabs”.  The hate between these northern people and the people of Jerusalem was intense.  And, to make matters worse, some of the people of the northern area had become bandits who would loot travelers and then kill them. 
On this particular trip Sol had lingered too long in Damascus.  His delay meant that he had to pass through the dangerous mountain cave area where the bandits were at their worst, especially at night.   And as luck would have it, Sol was attacked by them.  They set upon him, robbed him of all of he carried and then beat him, they thought, to death.
Sometime later Sol awakened, lying face down in the dirt. He was lying upon one hand and arm and the other arm hung beside him, so badly broken that he was powerless to move.  He realized that he had been awakened by the sound of the talk and laughter of several men approaching him and headed toward Jerusalem!  He tried to cry out to them, but was unable to.  Then he noticed that they had seen him but were going to pass him by.  They were obviously not willing to take the chance the bandits would return and attack them!
“God Damn these cowards!” he groaned.  And then it hit him like a ton of bricks what he had just done.  He had broken the 3rd commandment.  In accordance with his faith, he could only get forgiveness from God by spilling the blood of a lamb upon an alter while asking for forgiveness. In his present condition, he could not have lifted and killed a lamb even if there were a priest and alter for sanctification of the sacrifice.  His situation was hopeless.  And then he remembered, he had heard that a young Rabbi from Nazareth who said, “God will forgive anyone who truly believes in Him and simply asks to be forgiven.”  Oh, how he hopped the young Rabbi was right.
Sol then passed out to be awakened again by the sound of a new group of Travelers heading south.  “Oh Thank You Lord,” he thought.  He could tell by their conversation that these travelers were a group of Rabbis, possibly returning from a trip to try to reconvert the northern tribes.  “Surely these men of God would not turn away from him in fear.” . . . . . But they did!

“Oh Dear God, how can this be?” He thought as he again passed out.

  He awakened to realize that while he was unconscious, he had been bleeding a great deal.  He was bleeding to death and, without help, he would soon be dead.  He passed out once more.
He was awakened a third time by the sound of a donkey’s hooves.  “Oh NO,” he thought.  “Only a Damascan could own a donkey.”  The man approached and Sol heard him unsheathe his knife.  “Oh Dear Lord, PLEASE let his strike be swift and sure. Please let my death be swift.”
Then he heard something strange, the thief was using the knife to cut off a piece of the thief’s own clothing.  “Why would he do this?” Sol wondered.  “And now. . . now what is he doing. . . . He is using the cloth to bind my wounds. He is using it to save my life. Does he think I can get him a huge ransom?”  While pondering this, Sol passed out yet one more time.  
This time when he awakened he could tell he was being carried on the donkey’s back.  “But what is this?  We are now back in Israeli territory.  If this Samarian is found here by many of my people, he will be killed when they see me.  Why is he risking this?” 
Then came the most amazing thing of all.  The Damascan took Sol to an Inn.  He directed the Innkeeper, a Jew, to tend to Sol’s wounds and care for him until Sol could continue his journey to Jerusalem on his own.  He even left a good deal of money to pay for all of this.  And the final miracle came when the Innkeeper asked, “And what if this isn’t enough money.”  The Samarian replied, “I will come by in a few weeks and pay you whatever reasonable bill you present.”

*   *   *   *   *

The question then becomes --  Why did Christ tell this picture story?  What was the meaning of this parable? And, does it have significance just now?

Ever since we were children, we have been told that the parable of the good Samaritan was teach us all, that whenever we see someone in trouble we should help to the extent that we are able.  
I remember when I was not yet in school my father was sawing on a piece of lumber.  He only had two sawhorses rather than four.  Thus, he could only support the longer end on them with the shorter hanging over, in thin air.  When the saw cut was nearly through I was still watching and doing nothing else.  He then very sternly explained that he was sure I could see that if he continued the board would break and ruin one end or the other.  It had to be obvious to me that he needed help and I should have volunteered it.  His instruction was given in a very strong way and I will never forget the lesson!
Let me remind you further, that Jesus told his followers that many would hear his parables but not all would understand them.  Indeed, many of those who heard them would learn a little, and not understand all the parables had to teach.  
[Mathew 13: 10]     The followers of Jesus came to Him and said, “Why do You speak to them in picture-stories?”  
He said to the followers, “You were given the secrets about the holy nation of heaven.  The secrets were not given to the others.  He who has {understanding born of belief in me} will have more given to him.  He will have even more than enough. But he who has little will have even that taken away from him.’
“This is why I speak to them in picture-stories.  They have eyes but they do not see.  They have ears but they do not hear and they do not understand.  It happened in their lives as Isaiah said it would happen.  He said, ‘You hear and hear but do not understand.  You look and look but do not see.  The hearts of these people have become fat.  They hear very little with their ears.  They have closed their eyes.  If they did not do this, they would see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts.  Then they would be changed in their ways and I would heal them’
“But how great are your eyes because they see.  How great are your ears because they hear.  For sure, I tell you, that many early preachers and men right with God have wanted to see the things you see, but they did not see them.  They wanted to hear the things you hear, but they did not hear them.”
On September 11, 2001, there were hundreds of  Good Sameritans, many of whom gave their lives to rescue others in the twin towers.  It brings to mind something else He said, “No greater love hath any man than that he give his life for another.” AND, “I bring unto you a new commandment that you should love one another as I have loved you.”

Since that September 11th, the parable has taken on yet another meaning.  It is one to which we must all lend our hearts and minds.  That is, because we must protect our families, our country, and even ourselves, we must defeat those who would do us harm but we must not hate nor intentionally harm anyone just because of his country of origin OR, and please listen carefully, we must NOT hate anyone because of the way in which he worships God.  
Lets dwell on that for a moment.  I would like to believe that everyone in here does his or her level best to follow the Law of Moses.  Remember them?
1.  I am the Lord thy God.  Have no other gods than Me
2.  Thou shalt neither bow down to nor worship Idols
3.  Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.
4.  Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy
5.  Honor thy father and thy mother
6.  Thou shalt not murder another person
7.  Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8.  Thou shalt not steal.
9.  Thou shalt not bare false witness
10. Thou shalt not covet anything that is thy neighbor’s.

So how, then, are we now to react when we are under attack from the direct descendants of the Samaritans?  Do we have the right to kill in retribution or in self-defense?  In Exodus 21: we are commanded by one of the Laws of Moses: “Whoever hits a man so that he dies will be put to death. And, if a man wants to hurt his neighbor and he plans to kill him, then you take him away from My altar and put him to death.”  
And remember that Christ told us that He came not to change the Law (of Moses) but to add to it when He told us that he came to us to give us a New Commandment -- That we should love one another as He has loved us.
Is this not something else he taught us in the parable of the Good Samaritan?
In Galatians 3, 28 – 29 we are told, “God does not see you as a Jew or as a Greek.  He does not see you as a person sold to work or as a person free to work.  He does not see you as a man or as a woman.  You are all {the children of God.}

How do we deal with this seaming dichotomy?
It would seem to me that we must punish those who have broken the law, as we are trying to do.  In the end, however, we can only put an end to the conflict by learning what has caused it and then working to change that situation.
Does this mean that we should give Israel to the Mohammedans?  NO! For that is not the real reason the Mohammedans are at war with us.  It is only the excuse of evil ones among them.
Any good negotiator will tell you there are always two reasons someone does something:  The reason he tells everyone – something that sounds good and is a benefit to his family or his company.  The REAL reason is usually for his benefit alone and thus he is not likely to tell this reason publicly.  To win him to your side, you must find out the REAL reason and satisfy THAT.  And of course, either satisfy the public reason or give him another one in substitute.
We can’t give Israel to Palestine.  So, we must find another public reason they can accept.  That is a problem for our best diplomats.  
Discovering the REAL reason calls for study of the history and morays of the region.  The solution to this one will have to come from our most wise and knowledgeable leaders.  An example, perhaps not the best we might find, consider the fact that all of the countries of that region are ruled by kings, dictatorial men or groups of men.  Our country has become the greatest on earth in just 200 years by being governed by its citizens.  Is it this that they fear will spread to their countries?  Or perhaps, it is the fact that their women are little more than abject slaves and they are afraid that giving severance to women and in general treating them as equal citizens will spread from us to them?
Or maybe, is it our insistence on the separation of church and state that frightens them so.  The people of Israel were ruled by their priests until the time of King David.  He put an end to that! And Solomon, his son, was inspired to write of the power and greatness of a country ruled by its people, people who believed in God and obeyed His laws.  The system of government envisioned by Solomon was only truly tried in the forming of the United States government.  The Mohammedans know all of this, and I feel strongly that this frightens them greatly.  And men destroy what they fear!
Now we must face the fact that the Moslems out number us in large numbers.  They are used to war as a way of life, they are spread out and comparatively, not vulnerable to modern warfare  -- statistically, we could loose this war.
We face a situation worse than that we faced just after Pearl Harbor.  However we must also remember that it was with God’s help we won that war and with that victory we carried His plan to half the world.   If you doubt that, look at the ways of the peoples of Japan and Germany before and after the war.
Maybe, just maybe God has given us leaders who, by listening to inspiration from God, can find a way to convert the hearts of our enemies without the waste and bitterness of a great world war.  
In the mean time, and this is very important, don’t let our enemies win through our fear. On 9/11 I knew of one small company next to NASA that heard the personnel at NASA were sent home as it would likely be the next target.  The small company’s management told their employees that they too could leave.  And yet, every single man and woman there said.  “NO! We will not let them control us and win through our fear.  We are not going home today, or any day, for that reason.”
The way we must fight this war today is to not allow them to tear down our economy by our hiding in our homes and not flying, buying or doing what we otherwise would.  To do so allows them to win.

We must put our faith in God and trust in him. 

[The congregation sings A Mighty Fortress Is Our God]