A certain man [was left] half dead
I do not write the following as a rebuke, in any manner. Instead, I hope to convey a realization that I discovered, an application of a perhaps antiquated parable into a living, breathing life. Maybe the next time I examine a situation with priestly or Levite eyes, I will pause and “have compassion”. Don’t each of us journey that road to Jericho and fall among thieves sooner or later?
If you are unfamiliar, or want a refresher of Jesus Christ’s parable of the Good Samaritan, here is a good video portrayal.
In sharing this allegory with the lawyer, Jesus drew upon then current societal figures to portray attitudes and dispositions that are timeless. The priest and Levite are everlasting. While we don’t have people zealously tending to Herod’s Temple, we certainly cling to our philosophical predilections whenever a half dead person crosses our path. These come in a wide variety, and many are persuasive rebuttals to the cry for help:
- Providing aid will only develop a dependency or sense of entitlement
- The help will be abused and I will be left taken advantage of
- This person’s circumstances are the consequence of their poor actions
- My generous donations of resources and time to other charities surely frees me from any obligation to this person
- I am far too busy to possibly be able to help at this time, or I do not carry any cash with me
- I have no idea what this person is actually going through and am scared that I will say something wrong
- I am sure that there are other people in their life that are better able to help them
- It is not my job to bring assistance to them
- I feel like I should help, but I can’t right now. I will do it later
- People like them do this to themselves, they deserve no help from me
- This is just punishment for the crime that they committed
- I sense that I should help, but they don’t look like they actually need it
Some of these arguments are more tenuous than others; however, each perpetuates that astigmatic vision of the Levite, of the priest. How much good can we possibly accomplish, How much good can we possibly persist in the world, when in the face of true human suffering, we balk at the call to aid, whatever the excuse may be? Suffering is assured in this life, and not just because another human inflicts it upon us. Flesh and earth rend and burn without any provocation. Why not run to and fro like the medic, rather than the feigned rule-keeper in search of infractions?
As I have watched this year ensue, through glimpses midst the tortured tears of my own sorrow, my heart has hurt. I am the victim of no man, there are legions of bereaved just like me. There is guaranteed carrying capacity for a sorrow like ours in life and it appears that through lack of compassion and love, we may have ensured that our society can permit even more.
Of course, no social program will ultimately solve this dilemma. For society is just a collection of individuals on that road to Jericho. The more that each and every one of us walk as the Samaritan, the more that the ills in our individual nature and the ills in our society will be healed. The more that we pray to God and act that another might live, the more that we will live, despite what any alternative endeavor may promise. I am among the most guilty for abstaining from this higher walk of life, but in tasting those dregs of life’s pain (I know feeling half dead), I pledge my very best to shield any further pain from falling upon my sister or brother.
Mercy is most empowering, liberating, and transformative when it is directed at the undeserving. The people who haven’t earned it, who haven’t even sought it, are the most meaningful recipients of our compassion.
— Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
