-CAPSULES -COLOURS OF LIFE
It is a story we all know very well. If it escaped you at Sunday School then you heard it at home or in the Bible Knowledge class. A classic in charity, is what the narrative of the Good Samaritan is! Let’s take a look at it again in the book of Luke chapter ten
“A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So, he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him. “Take care of him: and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.”
Here we have a lone traveller who falls prey to misfortune and is left for dead. A righteous man passes by, sees him but avoids him. After, a holy man comes along, sees him and takes the other way. And, why not! After all no one was watching (or so they thought) and who knows, maybe they were rushing for a worker’s meeting or a Minister’s convention. The cameras were not there to publicize their good works. Their congregation was not present to applaud them. They were too busy pursing their ecclesiastical call to bother with a nameless, helpless, dying man. They continue on their journey. Then comes a Samaritan, whom the Jews regarded as unclean. It is this infidel, the least likely of the three, who, when he sees the victim, has compassion on him.
The Samaritan did not know the dying man. He, like the two previous travellers, was under no obligation to help. He could have walked passed like the ‘men of God’ did. But he had mercy on a fellow human being. He would not walk away and leave a man half-dead. The Samaritan was not doing good works to be seen of men. Not knowing anyone was watching, he adjusted his travel plans, stopped and attended to the casualty. He took the wounded man on as a personal responsibility, transported him to a safe haven and there cared for him.
When, the following day, the Samaritan had to continue his journey, he did not heave a sigh of relief and abandon the victim. His love was practical and pure. He wanted to see this case to the end. He was resolved to finish the good work he had started. So, he paid this host to continue from where he had left off and promised to reimburse any extra charges incurred, when his returned.
Everyday and all around us are opportunities to be a neighbour to someone; we do not have to go far to find a need to meet. God actually expects us to bear one another’s burdens daily. And for those of us who cannot wait to see the Lord and give Him a great big hug for all His mercies and love and kindness there is good news- when we do good to others, we are expressing gratitude to God. God is in the helpless victim we come across on the path of life, experiencing an accident of existence, bleeding from discouragement and left to die!
We must not allow the wounded travellers amongst us die. Sometimes we need to take our eyes off ourselves, take a break from our busy lives, and our petty issues, to care for others.
I was awakened to this reality in a way that is difficult to forget in 2004 when I read about a 32-year-old man called Emmanuel who was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. At the time he had lost his hearing and was at home in the UK waiting to die. He needed a miracle or a 100,000 GB Pounds surgery to save his life. The person who was trying to raise funds for him wrote “It would be wonderful to receive millions from one source, but if we all gave as little as N100 (One hundred Naira), it will go a long way towards raising the required sum”.
And this call came at a time when I was getting bored of the bag I carried everyday and saving up to buy a nice new one. How trivial my ‘need’ suddenly seemed in the light of a life hanging in the balance.
The challenges people around us face presents us the opportunity to be Good Samaritans; people who do good in secret. No one may ever know of that act of kindness. You may never receive a public acknowledgement. You may think that no one is watching. But apparently someone is keeping record - Jesus commended the Samaritan for being a good neighbour.