Be A Good Neighbor, No Matter Who Your Neighbor Is At The Moment
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘(30) In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. (31) A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. (32) So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. (33) But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. (34) He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. (35) The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.”’ (Luke 10:30-35)
Jesus told this parable to teach us about being good neighbors. We often think of neighbors as the folks who live around us, who we wave at if they are out in their yards as we drive past or occasionally chat with if we run into them while getting our mail. Jesus, however, using the Parable of the Good Samaritan, shows us that wherever we go, we have neighbors. We cannot determine through the parable whether the man robbed was wealthy or ‘middle-class’ at that time, but we can assume he was a Jew as he was leaving Jerusalem for Jericho, two Israeli cities.
We don’t know if he thought he was prepared or not, as in his case it didn’t matter as the robbers jumped him, beat him, and took everything he had. What we do know is that several folks, who would seem to be the ones to help the man, passed him by. It was the Samaritan, one who was of a group Jews would consider their enemy (today’s Palestinians are the equivalent of the Samaritans of Jesus’ time), who stopped and helped the man through his troubles, even to ensure the man had a place to stay until he was healed.
A year or so ago in the middle of winter, the state of Virginia got a bunch of snow, causing problems on their interstates. A pileup on I-95 of several semis just south of DC caused a 50-mile backup that lasted 24 hours, with several people trapped on the highway running out of gas, food, and water. On I-64 west of Richmond, there were trees down over lanes of the highway that had traffic snaking through single-file to avoid the fallen timbers. Part of the problem was it apparently rained, then started snowing as it got colder, and between the wind and the frozen weight upon the tops of the trees they simply toppled over.
The real story in the 24-hour pileup, however, is in the reports that some of the truck drivers who were also stuck on the highway, were offering their extra food and water to those who needed it. Truck drivers often experience, by way of federal regulation, having to pull over and stop driving for a prescribed period after logging 12 hours behind the wheel, and so many of them have small stockpiles of provisions in case they are parked out in the middle of nowhere, with no restaurants or gas stations (and there are still many places like that in the US, surprisingly).
They were helping those who needed help, those who were not as versed in their preparations for such an issue. Sometimes we think we are prepared for every possible outcome, and typically it is that one ‘impossible’ outcome (like a 24-hour highway shutdown) that shows us how ill-prepared we really are, while others fail to prepare at all.
The people together who were trapped on the I-95 became neighbors; the car became their residence, and the cars around them became their neighborhood. We often think of truck drivers in negative terms; they can be somewhat rough-edge and of course when they decide to drag-race each other on an Interstate with only two lanes (in one direction) they hold up everyone behind them as they take 20 miles at 55 miles per hour to complete the pass.
This stereotype of rough-edged individuals may be considered by some ‘dregs of society’ (which sometimes is also assigned to those in motorcycle gangs and Red Hat Society sewing clubs). What is often not reported is the charitable things these groups do, such as toy drives, donation deliveries, and fund-raisers for those in need. The truck drivers in the highway jam saw their ‘temporary’ neighbors in distress, and like the Samaritan didn’t look at these people as strangers but as their neighbors in need.
There are several lessons to learn in this; first is never judge a ‘book by its cover’, or place a negative label on someone just by affiliation or appearance. There are many truck drivers (and motorcyclists, and sewing ladies) who are not rough but kind, soft-spoken and very decent individuals.
Second is from the parable that we must take great care not to become too pious or pompous to think we as Christians are above others. The priest and the Levite likely didn’t want to get their hands dirty or help someone who, in the man’s condition, likely had them believe he was a poor man or a criminal who ‘got what he deserved’.
The third lesson is don’t be afraid to reach out, either to provide someone to help or ask someone for help. We see both in the Samaritan’s actions; he first provided the man bandages, oils, and wine (likely using the alcohol as an antiseptic) to cover his wounds. The Samaritan then went to an inn-keeper and asked him for help to provide the man a place to heal in.
We should not need to be stuck in a snowstorm to provide for our neighbors. Taking it a step further, when you sit in a restaurant, your temporary neighbors are the folks sitting in the table next to you, or the waiter/waitress who is taking your order. Be a good neighbor and help them by sharing the Gospel of Jesus and His love with them. They may be stuck and need the help to get back running on the road!
