The Good Samaritan and Multiracial Democracy: Jim Wallis on The State of Belief

Jim Wallis, Sojourners founder and author of the new book "The False White Gospel: Rejecting Christian Nationalism, Reclaiming True Faith, and Refounding Democracy," describes an unforgettable trip to visit Archbishop Desmond Tutu in apartheid-era South Africa.
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TRANSCRIPT: So here's this, this lawyer, and he comes to ask Jesus some questions. And when I didn't learn until I went back to the text, I discovered this was a Washington lawyer. I know that tone of voice. And he said, oh, okay. So what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said, well, I think, you know; I think you read it. You know, love your God with your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength, everything. And then love your neighbor as yourself. And loving your neighbor will show that you love God.
And then he pauses. Okay, okay. All right. Who's my neighbor? Now, he is not saying, “Who is my neighbor? How can I welcome them?” He is saying, “Exactly who is my neighbor here? how can I avoid obligation? Responsibility?” Who can I get away with not treating right.
So Jesus then uses this example, this transforming example, of a Samaritan. Now let's remember for the Judeans, a Judean culture in which Jesus is here speaking, there were no good Samaritans. They were mixed race. They were half-breeds. They were dangerous. They were false worshippers - stay away from them. They were othered. Othered like we other lots of people, lots of other people. And the Jewish scholars, Amy Levine and others who I quote in the book, said the man lying by the side of the road, robbed, beaten, half-dead, maybe, just totally by himself, was a Jew.
So here is a Samaritan who is an other to this Jew, and this Jew by the side of the road watched two of his own leaders pass by and ignore him. Maybe they had a vestry meeting or something, but they were too busy to stop, for whatever reason. So he, the one who is being othered, stops to help one who is other to him. That's such a transforming parable, because Jon Meacham says, the great historian on democracy, Jon says the same thing: treating people like neighbors, fellow citizens and not enemies, is crucial to democracy.
And if we talk about the multiracial democracy which we could become - we could become the first genuine multiracial democracy in the world. It's a wonderful opportunity we have, but it will be answering this question, the one you raised: who is my neighbor? It will be treating people who are different than me as my neighbor. And the title of that chapter is: “Your Neighbor Probably Doesn't Live in Your Neighborhood.” So how do we reach out to those who are different than us, treat them like a neighbor? And that's exactly what Jesus did in this wonderful Good Samaritan parable. So the Good Samaritan could help lead us to a multiracial democracy.