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In "Go and Do Likewise: How We Heal a Broken Country" (to be published Tuesday by St. Martin's Press), Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, writes about how the language of faith, which he believes has been co-opted by some politicians, can be used to bridge the nation's partisan divide – and how the parable of the Good Samaritan can be viewed as an instruction to show kindness, not cruelty, to one another.
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parable → go → one
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trial → have → ?
Like almost any guy who came of age in the '80s and '90s, I watched the Indiana Jones movies.
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I → come → movies
The movies are mostly fun adventure stories, but every once in a while, you can find a life lesson.
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you → find → lesson
Looking back at it now, I think of a classic scene in the third movie, "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," that to me offers a true understanding of the meaning of faith.
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that → look → faith
At a crucial moment in the film, Dr. Jones is given one chance to select from a large assortment of goblets to find the Holy Grail, the sacred cup used by Jesus at the Last Supper.
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Jones → give → Supper
Before Jones are a multitude of chalices of incredible splendor—bejeweled, golden cups that seemingly would befit the King of Kings.
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that → bejewel → Kings
Another character makes her selection on that basis—she chooses the richest and most splendid and her companion pays the price.
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companion → make → price
But Jones homes in on a very different cup to be the Grail, one that he feels would be used by a carpenter—plain, humble, and simple.
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he → home → carpenter
The knight who serves as the guardian of the Grail famously tells him, "You have chosen wisely."
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You → serve → him
We all know what goblet Donald Trump would have chosen in that circumstance—the gaudier and more self-aggrandizing, the better.
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Trump → know → circumstance
Today, he's turned the Oval Office into a gilded and grotesque cage of excess and bulldozed the historic East Wing of the White House for his ballroom.
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he → turn → ballroom
The president's adult children hawk gold cell phones, and he is willing to take a corrupt gift so he can sit in a luxury 747 that is a "palace in the sky."
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that → hawk → sky
All while he hurts the struggling middle class, as well as the poor and vulnerable, with his tariffs and big, ugly healthcare cuts.
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he → hurt → tariffs
He even goes to court to stop SNAP benefits because he believes that starving Americans is "good leverage" for his political fights.
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starving → go → fights
It is unthinkable that we as a country and the Democratic Party in particular have all but ceded faith and basic morality to a modern-day Pharisee, who condemns those who are different and who says his favorite verse of Scripture (when he can remember any at all) is "an eye for an eye."
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he → cede → eye
That's how he sees the world.
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he → see → world
But that's not how I see it.
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As the grandson and great-grandson of Baptist lay ministers, I was taught the parable of the Good Samaritan.
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I → teach → Samaritan
It's a wonderful story, and you don't need to be a religious person to appreciate its wisdom.
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you → need → wisdom
In the story, a man walking from Jerusalem to Jericho is ambushed, stripped, beaten, robbed, and left half-dead on the side of the road.
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man → walk → road
A number of people pass by and see this poor man lying in the dirt, naked and bleeding, but they do nothing to help him.
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they → pass → him
Instead, they cross over to the other side of the road and keep walking.
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they → cross → road
But one person, a Samaritan, stops and renders lifesaving aid.
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person → stop → aid
He even goes the extra mile and carries the man on his back to a nearby town and pays for his care.
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He → go → care
Who, Jesus asked, is the true neighbor to this man?
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Jesus → ask → man
The one who helped him, of course.
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who → help → course
Many sermons mistakenly stop here.
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Because after telling this story, Jesus doesn't pause or move on to another topic.
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He looks directly at the crowd and says, "Now go and do likewise."
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It is Jesus's command to go out and show kindness, not cruelty, to one another and to the world.
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It means that if you claim to be a Christian, it's your job to be good to your fellow human being, especially when it's hard.
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it → mean → being
I wonder if Donald Trump has ever heard the story of the Good Samaritan.
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Trump → wonder → Samaritan
If he has, he failed to learn its central lesson.
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"Now go and do likewise" means seeing the humanity in one another.
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go → go → one
It means giving people a hand up when they need it, even if they are different from you.
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they → mean → you
It does not mean punishing people who depend on SNAP benefits to feed their babies or Medicaid to cover the cost of healthcare.
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who → mean → healthcare
"Now go and do likewise" means treating all people as people of God—not dividing the country by party, race, ethnicity, or even sexual orientation.
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go → go → party
"Now go and do likewise" means welcoming people to a country that once welcomed our own ancestors, not defying court orders and expelling people who do not look the same as you.
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who → go → you
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia
