Lessons from a Compassionate Traveler

Sometimes, the preacher needs to preach. This is one of those times. Our text is Luke 10:30-37, the parable of the Good Samaritan.

A man on a journey was attacked by robbers and left for dead by the side of the road. Two religious leaders passed by. Assessing the situation, they moved to the other side of the road and refused to become involved, leaving the man to his fate as they hurried on their way.

A Samaritan, a noncitizen, a member of a despised class, came upon the scene. He saw the man and his heart was moved to pity. He went to the injured traveler, bandaged his wounds, applied medicinal oils, and carried him to a local inn where he paid for his lodging and care. Before departing, he promised to return and confirm that the man was healing.

This Samaritan, this hated outsider was, according to Jesus, the neighbor to the victim for demonstrating compassion and mercy. “Be like him,” Jesus concludes.

I am not the first to note that this story describes three distinct human attitudes toward possessions. The first is displayed by the robbers who forcefully took the traveler’s belongings. Without concern for morality or legality, they stole all he had.

Similar stories abound today: Shoplifters, scammers, burglars, and street thugs steal what rightfully belongs to others. Business conglomerates increase profits by ruthlessly extracting resources from communities unable to defend themselves. Laws are passed to facilitate the transfer of wealth from lower classes to the wealthy and powerful. This morning, I listened to government lawyers arguing for the right to strip away constitutional rights from those they deem less desirable. “We have power,” they say, “and we will use it to take away what is yours.”

The religious leaders modeled a second attitude. While not involved in the original crime, they remained aloof and refused to show compassion toward the unfortunate traveler. Perhaps they had somewhere to be or were worried about their own safety or purity. They were important people with things to do and places to be. They might have felt they had earned their respectable place in society, and, while it was unfortunate that the traveler found himself in this situation, he probably deserved it.

The Good Samaritan shows a different way. His heart was open to the plight of the unfortunate victim. The text says, “He saw him, and he took pity on him.” Note the first act of seeing, noticing, of paying attention, followed by the second act of having a heart moved by pity. Without judgment, shame, or consideration of whether the dying man deserved his fate, the Samaritan shared of his own abundance in service of this beaten-down traveler.

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gets to the heart of the issue. In his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” sermon, delivered the day before his assassination, he famously observed that the first question of the religious leaders was, “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me? But then the Good Samaritan came by, and he reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’ ”

This is still the question before us, and I wonder if we are failing. In our current socio-political climate, many of our leaders and those who support them appear to be more concerned with personal gain than the common good.

Minorities and immigrants are scapegoated for political expediency. Life-saving aid has been cut off from the most vulnerable. Taxes are being funneled to the rich and powerful instead of the hungry and needy. People are being snatched off our streets and thrown into prisons without due process. Slickly edited videos of their inhumane treatment are being played for laughs at political rallies.

At the risk of hubris, I would add a third question to The Rev. Dr. King’s interpretation: What happens to us when we ignore the plight of the needy?

“Be like the Samaritan,” Jesus said. It seems some would prefer to follow the way of the thieves or leaders with hearts unable to feel pity for the harm being done in our name. We have an invitation to be better, to heed the call to compassion and mercy, if only we have ears to hear. I hope we will listen before it is too late. The peace of Christ be with us all. Thus ends today’s sermon.

Award-winning columnist Dan Whitmarsh is a licensed therapist and pastor at Lakebay Community Church.