Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). A man is walking from Jerusalem to Jericho, a distance of about twenty miles through a barren wilderness. He is set upon by robbers, beaten, and left for dead. Two people — a priest and a Levite, two members of the Temple establishment — walk by and do not stop to help the man. But a Samaritan, considered at the time to be of a lowly class, is the one who stops.
The Samaritan goes to the man who has been beaten, gives him aid, takes him to an inn, gives the innkeeper money, and tells the innkeeper that he will come back. He also notes that if more money is needed to cover the man's care, the Samaritan will provide it. Jesus asks, "Which of these three was neighbor to the man who was robbed and beaten?" The answer comes back, "The one who showed mercy." Jesus responds, "Go and do likewise."
Keeping in mind the story of the Good Samaritan, meditate on the phrase "Go and do likewise" as a reminder of our essential interconnectedness. "Do likewise" is a good trigger for your memory to reconnect you to this practice.
— Don Mackenzie