The Samaritan also does something else that seems unthinkable today: he takes responsibility for his actions. In a world where charity has come within reach by “clicks,” the Samaritan does not delegate the care of the other, but dismounts his horse and takes charge of the afflicted man. Here we return to the beginning of our parable. Imagine the man who was attacked waking up the next day in an inn, safe and sound. Imagine him asking what happened and imagine his astonishment when he learns that a foreigner, whom he too may have hated, rescued him. An anonymous Samaritan, who carried out a gesture of mercy, perhaps will heal that mistrust in humanity caused by attacking bandits. Here Jesus confronts us with two great truths: that we are all bearers of salvation and that our anonymity will not be such in the eyes of God, but it is necessary in the eyes of men so as not to produce that dependence that beneficence makes between benefactor and beneficiary.