"He ain't heavy, he is my brother."
The story is told of two brothers who ended up in a boys home after being abandoned by their parents. Every day, the older boy would carry the younger boy up and down the stairs. When an orderly asked if he was not too heavy, the older boy responded, "he ain't heavy, he is my brother."
I often think about this story and wonder 'Who is my brother? Who is my neighbor? Who is the person
that I should be able to help, or at least carry some of their load? Who needs a kind word today? Who is
the person who needs a smile? Who needs a listening ear?
Jesus was asked the question "who is my neighbor?" and then told the story of the Samaritan (a person on a road trip, attacked by thieves and left for dead in a gutter. Several religious and political leaders came by and stepped right over him, each with their excuses. Then an outcast came, saw the man, took care of him, and paid the cost of recovery.) Jesus then replied to the person asking the question: "So who is a good neighbor?" Of course, it was the person who helped.
That made me think of our current reality, where people are made into numbers and discarded. It
makes me think of the children struggling to grow up or to be born. It makes me think of how easily we label people who are different from us (neurodivergent, people with a different skin color, people of different orientations, unhomed, and now people who are of different political views). Each one left in the mental (and sometimes physical) gutters of our lives. Discarded because we are too busy to look into
their eyes, give them names, hear their stories, and show empathy.
What if we all become the big brother (or sister) and lift people up, what if we bind the wounds of the hurting, hear the plea of the broken, and engage with the people other than us? What if we become the 'good neighbor"?
I believe that life for all of us would be better, that our humanity can create beauty, and that beauty can change the world. So, go ahead, pick up your brother and carry them for a bit, because one day you too
need to be carried.