Not so Good Samaritan.

Today, as I was walking my dog, I fell. One of those nothing in the road, trip over your own feet, falls. I did a full face plant into the road. As I was falling I was aware of my glasses skidding on the tar and I was sure they would break. I lay there for a second and slowly lifted my head. My first thought was to check that my dog was ok and wasn’t about to be knocked over by a car. My next thought was “who saw me fall!” and was aware of the Bakkie that I heard in the road slow down. I looked up at the vehicle and locked eyes for a split second before he turned and drove off.

My initial thought was to think that they man had got a brief thrill from seeing me fall. The more I thought about it after slowly getting up and doing a slow limp home, the more I focused on the lack of concern of people these days. I was quick to judge society for their unwillingness to help these days. For their desensitized manners and fear of getting involved.

God quickly reminded me of my own “priestly” dismissal a few months earlier.

Jesus spoke of a man being beaten up and left for dead.Two people walked by (a priest and a Levine) and didn’t help the man and walked by on the other side. Then a Samaritan walked by and stopped to assist the man, took him to an Inn and cleaned him up, paid for the inn keeper to continue to care for him before he was on his way. He had the honor of being called “The Good Samaritan“. Luke 10:-36

I was driving to fetch my son from school with my daughter in the car. We saw a vagrant man screaming at a whole lot of on lookers at the municipal dump with blood pouring down his face. Half an hour later we were on our way back and we saw the same man; about a kilometer on walking slowly still with blood falling down from a very bad gash on his head. I drove past. My daughter challenged me to go back but I logically explained to her that it wasn’t practical. He would probably scream at me with drug induced fury, bleed all over my car if I got him in and wasted my time and money trying to get him cared for in our unsympathetic health care system. Plus all the fear that comes with dealing with the neglected in society. I drove by and didn’t turn back in my priestly smart car and clean hands, teaching my daughter to be the same dismissive person.

So I have no right to judge a much less offense. I need to take the log out of my own eye before worrying about the speck in others. Luke6:41-42. I confess that I let down one of the ones that needed care and did nothing about. Matthew 25:31-40.

Each of these verses had been given to me during the week at different times during my quiet time. They all came together today when I fell and thought about the prayer I had prayed: “Show me Lord where I am not serving you.” Sometimes God has to give us our own black eye to be able to see clearly.