Saturday, October 10, 2009

Recognizing Injustice

The parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37 was one of my favorite stories as a child.  

Jesus answered by telling a story. "There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man.  "A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man's condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I'll pay you on my way back.'  "What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?"  "The one who treated him kindly," the religion scholar responded.   Jesus said, "Go and do the same."   msg


It still is.  Today we’d say the poor traveler was mugged or carjacked - probably selected at random, and fortunate to have survived the attack.  Then the plot get’s interesting – respected people who are normally expected to help don’t.  A great church leader sees the need, and asks his GPS for an alternate route.  A well known church lay leader comes on the scene, and checks her BlackBerry as she passes the scene.  The drama swells as we await a hero.  And then a “Samaritan” (plug in a group you choose here – a fundamentalist, a Muslim, someone from the other political party, – get the idea?) recognizes the problem, and takes action. 

I have two challenges – one is to open my eyes and really see the needs around me.  The second, harder one is to take helpful action at some cost to myself.  How about you?

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