Compassion - Which Person am I?

by Sherry Wallis

I love the story of the Good Samaritan.  

Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by coincidence a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was on a journey came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you.’ Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?” And he said, “The one who showed compassion to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

Luke 10:30-37 (NASB)

I always assumed myself to be the Good Samaritan when I was younger and reading the story, but now I sometimes wonder which character I would portray if this story was being written about me. Would I be like the priest and Levite who saw the beaten and injured man and crossed to the other side of the street and walked on by? I am ashamed that I fall into this category on some days. I don’t have the time, money or energy to help one more person. I don’t know you. I’ll let someone else help. My family and I are barely keeping our heads above water, and I can’t sacrifice more to help you out because you are down on your luck. Besides, what did you do to allow yourself to be in this situation? Am I the only one who has these thoughts?  

I have also been the beaten person, the one needing compassion and mercy.  

Six years ago on February 20, my parents received a call that my older brother had died while driving home from work. John was a healthy man in his mid-forties, and the shock for our family was huge. (We would later find out he had a heart attack caused by a heart murmur, often referred to as a “widow-maker.”) It was during this time of grief that I experienced the greatest display of compassion. 

A memorial service was planned for the following Friday evening in my small hometown. The community came to show support to my parents, my younger brother and his family, and to me. I moved away right after high school so many of the older people had forgotten me, but I was thankful they were there to show their support to our family. I stood by John’s fiancé and was introducing her to our many family members and to the community members I recognized. I was holding my tears in check until THEY walked in.  

I have a special bond with six classmates from elementary school and high school and we have kept in touch through the years. That night those six ladies walked in together with their spouses. Some had driven several hours one way to be at the memorial service. They all sacrificed vacation hours at work, time with their children, paid for childcare while they were gone, and incurred the cost of fuel and meals eaten out. I had shared the details about the memorial service because a few of the ladies lived in the area, but I never expected for ALL of them to walk in together. In that moment, I felt loved and cared for in a very special way. Almost six years later, I still get emotional thinking about that moment. Their act of love touched me and many others in attendance that night. My friends truly portrayed the attitude of the Good Samaritan.  

While we would like to think we will always be like the Samaritan and have compassion on the person who is down on his/her luck, I know I don’t always display compassion and my guess is you don’t either. When looking at the instances where the word compassion is used in the Bible, I noticed the words surrounding compassion. Mercy, gracious, healed, and concern appear often. Are we merciful and gracious? Do we have concern for others? It doesn’t always have to be something huge. We can invite someone sitting alone in church to join us or ask if we can join them. We can write a note, send a text, or make a phone call to someone and let them know we are thinking about them today. While we can’t heal others, we can take a meal or run an errand for someone who is sick, quarantined, or homebound. There are many ways we can show compassion and encourage others in the coming days. Let’s strive to be a blessing like the Good Samaritan. 

To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, loving, compassionate, and humble; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead…

1 Peter 3:8-9 (NASB)