The Good Samaritan, Circa 2016

Each year, my classes rewrite the Parable of the Good Samaritan, putting it into the context of their teenage worlds. Here is the first of several looks at the efforts of some of my high school students in my Gospels classes. All are used by permission with girls in pink and boys in blue.

One day there was a girl on the rival high school soccer team (SBS) who was walking home. All of a sudden, someone comes out of nowhere and beats her up. Later that day, the captain of the WCS soccer team walks by and looks at her with a glare. The WCS coach also walks by and says, Serves her right! A couple of hours later, a girl on the WCS soccer team who gets yellow cards stops and helps the injured girl. She calls for assistance and in the end, they became best friends.

Elly Ayala

When I got to math class, I was handed my graded test. It had 50% on it. The final was in a couple of weeks and I had no clue what was going on in the class. I went to the teacher and asked for help. He said to me, “The final is next week. If you haven’t learned the material by now, you don’t have a chance.” Then I went to my friend who had a 96% average in the class. I asked for help, but he, too, told me I was hopeless. I sat in my seat feeling discouraged. But all of a sudden, the kid behind me tapped on my shoulder. “Do you need help with this stuff? I learn the subject better when I teach others.” I was amazed that the person I didn’t even know was willing to help. This truly made my day.

Chandler Canterbury

Once, there was a college student who was a freshman at a major state university. One night, he was invited to a party that some upperclassmen were throwing. The freshman had never touched alcohol in his life, but was anticipating drinking that night in front of all his “friends.” When he got to the party, the upperclassmen began to hand him drinks and he started to get drunk. The upperclassmen thought it would be funny to put party drugs in his drinks. The freshman went absolutely crazy and started to tick off some of the older guys. They beat the freshman up and threw him outside. A well-known student athlete was walking up to the door for the party and sees the freshman squirming around. He avoids the situation and goes inside. Next, one of his freshmen friends was coming to the party as well and sees his impaired classmate. He wants to stop but doesn’t want to look bad in front of the others, so he leaves him on the ground. Later that night, the owner of the party house came out front and saw the freshman. He became furious and called the party off, kicking everyone out. He helped the freshman inside and took care of him. They later become close friends and good business partners.

Jose Sosa

One day at a softball game, a girl injures herself while fielding the ball. She then limps to the dugout. Moments later, her coach walks by and ignores her, focusing on winning the game. Later, her teammate walks by but ignores her as well, making sure she gets in a few practice swings in before she bats. However, a girl from the opposing team comes to the dugout to check on her and make sure everything is good. This class act goes to prove that not all good people are good and not all bad people are bad. The two become life-long softball buddies.

Annaliza Suerte

I'm in a nostalgic mood so here is one of my two favorite rewrites ever. It was seven years ago by 8th grader, Tosin Ajiboye. A girl was shopping in the mall, wearing her six inch stiletto heels, when she fell and twisted her ankle. A group of girls saw her screaming in pain and took her bags. A clerk from Hollister saw her lying on the ground and thought, 'Hey! I don't have to help- she had an attitude with me!' The clerk walked around her. Next, her boyfriend and a group of his friends saw her on the floor. She thought that help had come! Her boyfriend's friends asked him, 'Dude, isn't that your girl?' The boyfriend thought, 'Man, this could really mess up my rep!' He says, 'No- just a wannabe!' Then, one of the boys from the Chess Club saw her and immediately bandaged her and took her to the nearest hospital..and she was all better.
PS: A week later, they started dating!

Applicable quote of the day:
“We instinctively tend to limit for whom we exert ourselves. We do it for people like us, and for people whom we like. Jesus will have none of that. By depicting a Samaritan helping a Jew, Jesus could not have found a more forceful way to say that anyone at all in need - regardless of race, politics, class, and religion - is your neighbor. Not everyone is your brother or sister in faith, but everyone is your neighbor, and you must love your neighbor.”

― Timothy Keller, (Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just)

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com