Luke 10:37 And he said, The one doing the deed of mercy to him. And Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise.
Do we go and do likewise?
Last week, temperatures in Arizona hit the usual midsummer intense heat, around 110 degrees F (that’s around 45 degrees C). We were out driving to a bookstore and passed by a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk with his shopping cart of belongings. It was hot, the sidewalk sunny. There were no open businesses where he was. No trees. Not even a grassy spot. Just hard concrete and compact dirt. It occurred to me to get him a bottle of water from a convenience store about a quarter mile away but my husband didn’t want to. He was afraid of us getting hurt. I have to admit I was too.
Later on I wondered if we should have stopped. After all, wouldn’t the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) have stopped for this man? How many would have stopped for this man?
Luke 10
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
30 And answering, Jesus said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among robbers, who stripped him of his clothing and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by coincidence a certain priest came down that way and seeing him, he passed by on the opposite side .
32 And in the same way a Levite, also being at the place, coming and seeing him , he passed on the opposite side .
33 But a certain traveling Samaritan came upon him, and seeing him, he was filled with pity.
34 And coming near, he bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine, and set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And going on the next day, he took out two denarii and 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.
36 Then which of these three, do you think, was neighbor to him who fell among the robbers?
37 And he said, The one doing the deed of mercy to him. And Jesus said to him, Go and do likewise.
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July 4th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
As a practicality, perhaps next time, you can get the water, go back to him, but stop the car 100 ft. away, set down the bottle, and drive away. You will have done the kindness, and minimized risks.
Matt 25:35-40
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
NIV
July 6th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
never be afraid to give waterto someone who needs a drink - a tramp while ill walked into a church hall just after a service. He had a nasty head and face injury and when a woman asked for a first aid kit she was told there wasn’t one. the man was afraid of going to hospital - his dad had died in the local one 2 years before and he could not face the judgemental attitudes of people. He was cleaned up with paper towels to the woman’s sadness - if the man had not been a tramp he would have been cleaned up using a first aid kit. He was too frightened to go in an ambulance yet nobody offered to drive him in a car, he also had epilepsy and his head injury was caused by falling.He arrived at the church having walked about 8 miles from the hospital - he had been taken in an ambulance but ran from there. eventually an ambulance was called and the tramp signed the disclaimer form and had a major fit when the ambulance left. eventually after a couple more fits the woman accompanied him to the hospital and stayed for a few hours until he was settled and admitted as an in patient.when we shrug our shoulders and avoid potential trouble we often neglect those who find it hardest to ask for help and when the people are old they have probably had more rejection than we can possibly imagine.