Much Love

~That Others May Live~

35‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’37“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’40“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Matthew 25: 35 - 40 NKJV

He looked like kind of a rough character for a older guy.  Yet, here and now he was struggling to carry his packages as he got off the train in North Portland.  I watched him with a bit of amusement for a minute or so as he struggled, but I soon felt differently.  See, I'd been in his situation before, struggling as others stood by and watched.  Watching, as if waiting for someone else to come along and help.  Eventually I would get my wits about me and find my way.  Or someone would come along and help me, at which time I would mumble a half hearted thank you and go on my way.  Yeah, this guy could have been me, or any one of us for that matter.  I'd seen enough.  I walked up to the guy and offerd him a plastic bag for which to carry his items.  From the look he gave me you'd think that I had just taken a bullet for him.  In his mind perhaps I had.  Don't get me wrong, he seemed really grateful for the help I had given him.  In fact, he didn't seem too rough at all from up close.  He put his belongings in the bag I had offered, nodded his head in my direction and walked away.  My job was done.  Not yet, as he walked away he turned back and said simply "Much love my friend."  Indeed it had been.  I had been going through the words of Jesus in Matthew 25 for a day or so, wondering just how to use them in my writing in some way.  Then I met him.  I had seen firsthand just how a simple act of kindness can impact someone.  Of course, I already knew that love, charity and kindness are just a few of the virtues which Jesus Himself espoused.  Perhaps people in Jesus' day were not that much into charity and thinking of the well being of others as we seem to be today.  I mean, He definately needed to remind them of this example of doing for others right?  Why would He remind them unless He had noticed an issue in those around Him?  Seems logical to me.

30Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31“Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32“Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. 33“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. 34“So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35“On the next day, jwhen he departed, he took out two denarii, 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“So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” 37And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10: 30 - 37 NKJV

Most of us know that parable Jesus told of the good Samaritan.  That guy who, when traveling, fell among thieves and got himself worked over pretty good.  Well, one person passed by him,saw him lying in the road, then kept on his journey.  Again, another person passed by and saw the wounded man lying in the road, but he also passed him by.  Finally, help came from a source not many expected...a lowly Samaritan.  Now, I don't know just what it was about Samaritans that made them seem lowly and almost ghetto by todays standards, but they were looked down upon.
Indeed, the two men who had passed him by without as much as tending to him were...a priest and a Levite.  Those of Jesus' day surely understood the significance of this reference.  The priests and Levites surely knew the virtues of helping those in need, yet these men had punted when this opportunity was presented to them.  Jesus always had a reason for His parables, and this was no exception.  This lowly Samaritan crossed whatever cultural divides of his day to help that traveler.  I can imagine that the nationality of his rescuer was the last thing on his mind.  Samaritan or not, he was there to help him when others had refused to get involved.  Jesus ends his parable with some pretty pointed advice..."Go and do likewise."  So I did.  Much love my friend.

~Scott~