Mercy

     Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road.

     By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

     Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two <days wages>, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

     Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

     The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

This story is from Luke chapter 10. I have heard it my entire life it seems. But today something was different in the reading. Today, I realized that all too often I am the priest or the Levi. Some people will read this and think that because I live and work at a retirement center that I have the chance all the time to be a good neighbor. In the everyday sense, maybe, but it doesn’t cost me anything to be a neighbor here. As a matter of fact, they pay me to be the good neighbor here.

So I started thinking about the last time it really cost me, sacrificially, to be a good neighbor like the Samaritan above. And sadly enough, I cannot remember the last time. Unfortunately, I can remember many times, like yesterday, when I was headed to church or some other “Christian” event that I passed someone on the side of the road who might have needed help. Instead of stopping to see if assistance was needed, I continued on my way not wanting to be late or miss my event. More worried about myself and where I needed to be, I failed, miserably, the good neighbor test.

When Jesus asked the man who the neighbor had been, he said “The one who showed him mercy.” If being a good neighbor is showing mercy, then not being a good neighbor would be not showing mercy. This bothers me to no small amount because of the words of Jesus’ brother James. In the second chapter of his letter, James says that “there will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.” The thought of God not being merciful to me is frightening beyond description. Mainly because, more than anyone else, I know how much mercy I need.