It’s a pleasant Sunday morning in September, a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and I’m heading to church. A contemporary service that meets in an old theatre on a downtown street found in every city. You know the one. The street where ‘less-than-desirable-to-meet’ people tend to hang out.
I was about to walk past this young man and woman when I remembered the biblical Good Samaritan story (Luke 10.25-37). A man robbed, stripped, beaten, and left to die was denied any attention from both the spiritual (priest) and organizational (Levite) gatekeepers of Jewish worship. The priest and Levite both “passed by on the other side.”
You and I may be able to relate to that behaviour. Have we ever been tempted to cross the street to avoid someone who is coming towards us?
Preachers vary in their treatment of these two men in the parable. [Of course they were men – if women, they probably would have stopped]. Some say they were late for ‘church,’ others point out hypocrisy between theory and practice in those who espouse religion. And, of course, maybe it really doesn’t matter what their story was. The focus of Jesus’ parable seems to be not on what they did NOT do but rather on what the Samaritan DID do.
I must make it clear that by no means did all this go through my head as I approached the young man and women on the sidewalk. It wasn’t shaping up to be a case of which parable character I was about to emulate. I just wanted to have a conversation with two people who appeared to be rather comfortable in a somewhat uncomfortable setting. They weren’t looking too bad despite being tucked into the alcove of a building entrance without a blanket on the hard and rather cold concrete sidewalk.
It struck me how Mark was sitting with such a nurturing posture. His arms were comfortably surrounding Crystal with warmth and security. It reminded me of Jesus tenderly holding a lamb.
If you can, enlarge the picture to see Mark and Crystal’s eyes. [Always look at the eyes; they are a window to the soul]. Both have that look of pain from a life that has not gone the way they might wish. But there is also a glimmer of light. I think that glimmer comes from having genuine human companionship even on a hard concrete sidewalk.
A human connection that helps to transcend the harsh realities of a present situation. And even suggests hope that there is potential for life making sense again.
Mark was concerned that I would not think they were panhandling. It was important for him to assure me that he had jobs with painting and moving companies. I didn’t press for more information from either of them. I was glad that they wanted me to think more highly of them rather than less. After a pleasant conversation, I asked Mark if I could buy them something to eat and gave him $20. They consented to a picture and I carried on to church.
In her book, The last human job: The work of connecting in a disconnected world (2024), Allison Pugh calls us back to being a society that “relies on empathy, the spontaneity of human contact, and a mutual recognition of each other’s humanity.” It is quite a provocative title to suggest that to be human is the ‘last’ human job. As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly develops, a lot more attention is being given to the issue of what is left to be human.
I wonder if that is what Jesus was getting at. What do we see when we look at another person? The priest and Levite saw a potential intrusion to the plans for their day. An undesirable annoyance to be avoided. The Samaritan saw something else. A human being in need who deserved dignity and respect regardless of the circumstances. Regardless how busy he was. Regardless how much it might cost him. Regardless that he may be crossing racial or cultural taboos to even touch the bloodied man. He broke through all of those concerns in a genuinely human manner that put the self-righteous Jews to shame.
Religious people aspire towards righteousness. That includes seeking justice, personal virtue, and a right standing with their God. All good things. The priest and Levite sincerely wanted to fulfil a high-level code of belief and behaviour. The problem was one of focus. Their desire for righteousness got lost in the daily practice of self-righteousness. They lost sight of what Allison Pugh calls ‘the last human job.’ Empathy. Spontaneity of human contact. Mutual recognition of one’s own and another’s humanity.
The priest and Levite needed a refresher course in truths conveyed by the powerful images in both of the above pictures. When I look at Crystal, I see the little lamb sheltered in the arms of Jesus. And, in Mark’s eyes and smile, I see the joy of knowing he is making a difference in someone’s life. Images that the Samaritan would grasp intuitively even as an outsider to all the systems that were supposed to nurture such qualities.