A modern parable
A young couple and their daughter were on a trip to see family, and in the middle of the trip ran out of gas. It was getting late and most cars were just driving by, paying no attention to the stalled car. After hours of waiting a car stopped, the family finally would get some help, only to have the driver tell them where the next gas station is and how to get there. Disappointed the family staying in place, dad did not
want to leave his wife and young daughter alone on the side of road. After a while another car stopped and the young couple were hopeful. The family in the car got out, looked at the problem, and shared a
couple bottles of water and some chips with them before driving off. These people even offered a
prayer. As time went by and it was starting to get dark, yet another car drove up. A beat up truck with two men going home from a day of hard work. Exhausted they had their music turned up to keep them awake and bring some joy into their monotonous life. They saw the car and stopped, in broken English they asked what was needed, then drove 30 minutes to get to the gas station to bring the young family the gas needed to continue their journey. The dad was trying to get information from them to be able to
repay them, but they would not hear of it, got back in the truck, turned up the radio and drove off.
Yes, this is a retelling of the story of the good Samaritan from the Bible. People wanted to know how to live a righteous life and asked Jesus. He replied, "love God and love your neighbor". The evasive question was then asked "well, who is my neighbor?" And Jesus shared the story of a man being
attacked on the road and left for dead and the Samaritan (an outcast) who came by and helped the man, took care of him and even paid his hospital bill. "Go and do likewise" Jesus said.
We live in a world where we struggle to remember who my neighbor is. We struggle to recognize God's DNA in each person, to put our fears aside and see the other as a human being with a story of their
own.
I, for one want to be the person who sees my neighbor, and takes the time to help without condition. I
want to be person who sees you and stops to help. Maybe you want to join me.