The Biker
The Biker: A Modern Day Version of the Good Samaritan Parable
A commandment of Scripture, but sometimes difficult to interpret. How far does our obligation go? After all, who is our neighbor? Most of us who live in large cities don’t even know our neighbors! How can we love them? What do these words really mean, to love our neighbor? Listen to this tale, and decipher for yourself!
Early one evening, a successful young man took his new Nissan Maxima to the mall to buy his girlfriend a Christmas present. He had heard on the radio that his usual route was closed off, so he decided to chance it and go through the crazy-dangerous area of town to get there. He figured it was a better choice than having to go all the way around the city, thus adding two hours to his journey.
Well, the area he had to cut through was in the North End of the city, known for its gang warfare and biker bars, and he had chosen the completely wrong time to go through, too, as young punks started to gather for their nightly escapades, and certain young ladies went outside to claim their piece of the sidewalk for their nightly business of selling themselves.
At a red light, the young man stopped and found himself in the middle of a gang war. The gang member from one group took a shot at his enemy across the street, and the young man in the Maxima was the unfortunate barrier between them. The bullet barely grazed his shoulder, and he cried out in sharp pain, managing to pull over and stop the car.
He got out of the car, intending to go get help, but in his weakened state, he attracted the wrong kind of attention. A couple of kids looking for some quick drug money noticed his stupor and decided it would be easier to give him a couple of punches than try to break into a store. They also noticed his car keys and the car running close by and put the two and two together. Soon, he was out of a car, a cell phone and a wallet.
By the time they were gone, he was in rough shape and lay smashed and dirty on the sidewalk. He lay there for what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes. He was thrilled when he looked up and saw a pastor from his local church walk by. “Help, John!” he cried out feebly, but the leader crossed over to the other side of the sidewalk and did not even look his way.
The Minister
The minister did not usually walk this way, but he was on his way to a board meeting for all the churches in his district. Unfortunately, it was in one of the rougher areas of town, and John really wasn’t used to this environment. He wished he had been able to find parking closer, but he had been forced to walk several blocks to his destination.
He saw the man lying down from a few feet away and felt nervous. Who knows what that man had been imbibing in order to be that intoxicated? Often, these people were dangerous and unpredictable. Just for security’s sake, he crossed over to the other side of the street. He was already late for the meeting, and he didn’t want any complications. “I’m sure the police will deal with him,” he thought. “I need to get going.”
A faint wave of guilt washed over him, hoping this man would be okay, but he quickly told himself that he wasn’t responsible for saving the world. “They have people for that,” he thought. “It’s not my calling.”
The Church Lady
About a half hour later, a very frequent church-going lady walked by in a rush. She was carrying a Bible, and the injured young man thought for sure she would help him. He tried to call out to her, but she did not help. Instead, she put her nose in the air and quickly walked away in horror and disgust.
The woman had lived on that street for years and had seen everything decline in the last decade. What had once been a hard-working population had been overrun by hookers, pimps and drug addicts. Every day, she heard of more horrors on the nightly news, and it made her sick. She had once been proud to live here, but now she lived in fear.
When she heard the young man call out to her, she was sure he would be begging for money to buy some more booze. She was tired of being lambasted by these welfare-dependent bums. She looked at him in disgust, anger at the way the country was going, and hurried home to her little apartment, safe with bars on the windows and a good security system. She knew she shouldn’t have gone out so late in the afternoon.
The Biker
Just as he was almost passing into unconsciousness, the young man caught a glimpse of a man in a jean vest covered with decals and tight pants. He would have been afraid of this biker under different circumstances but he had no fear left, only vacuous curiosity. “I wonder what kind of bike he drives,” he pondered.
The man, who was dressed like a biker, parked his Harley-Davidson and decided to hoof it to the bar where he was going to relax for a few hours. He had had a hard week at the mill and was looking forward to forgetting his troubles with some good friends. Later, he would grab a cab and pick up his bike in the morning. No one on the street would dare to touch it.
Just as he neared his destination, he noticed a young man who looked like he’d been beaten up pretty badly. Feeling sorry for him, he went over and gently felt his wrist. Yes, he was still breathing. “Are you okay?” he whispered, not wanting to startle him. “Not really,” the young man replied. Let me call you an ambulance …. you look like you’re in pretty bad shape. He used his cell phone to call 911, waited with the young man until they arrived, and paid the ambulance driver the $500 fee. “Take my cell,” he told the young man, “use it to call your Mom and Dad and girlfriend about where you are. And here’s a couple hundred to tide you over until you get all your I.D. straightened out. Sorry for what happened to you, man. Those guys were jerks.”
The young man left in the ambulance and went to the hospital, used the cell phone to call his family and friends and afterward called the biker to give him back his cell phone. “How can I repay you,” he asked. “Don’t worry about it,” the biker told him. “There are still a few good guys left in this world.”
Who Is Your Neighbor?
Three people passed by our young man and saw three different things. One saw a dangerous drunk, another saw a lazy bum, and one saw a person who needed help. Who was the one that helped his neighbor?
It is said to love your neighbor as yourself. Who is your neighbor? Think about this tale, and discover for yourself.
This an adaptation of a parable told by Jesus, as recounted in Luke: 10:25-37.
+++
How sad! We often find ourselves in the same situation. Either we are the one in need or the one looking the other way. There are many people who sit in the church pew every week but who put blinders on when they walk out the doors. We are called to be witnesses of Jesus in the world!!! Not in the Church! It is the people in the world who need to see the love of God in and through us.
I am not saying we need to hand out money to every person standing on the street corner. This often does more harm than good. What I am saying is that we need to be alert and looking for those individuals who are truly in pain and who need our help.
It could be a man or woman going through a divorce and whose heart is breaking. It can be an elderly person who is all alone in this world who is sick and needs a friend. It may even be the person living in your own house who feels like an outsider.
It is only when we lift our eyes off ourselves and see our world through God’s eyes that we can begin to love our neighbor as ourselves. Only then will people see and experience the love of God in a tangible way.
Think about it!
Pastor Russ
A commandment of Scripture, but sometimes difficult to interpret. How far does our obligation go? After all, who is our neighbor? Most of us who live in large cities don’t even know our neighbors! How can we love them? What do these words really mean, to love our neighbor? Listen to this tale, and decipher for yourself!
Early one evening, a successful young man took his new Nissan Maxima to the mall to buy his girlfriend a Christmas present. He had heard on the radio that his usual route was closed off, so he decided to chance it and go through the crazy-dangerous area of town to get there. He figured it was a better choice than having to go all the way around the city, thus adding two hours to his journey.
Well, the area he had to cut through was in the North End of the city, known for its gang warfare and biker bars, and he had chosen the completely wrong time to go through, too, as young punks started to gather for their nightly escapades, and certain young ladies went outside to claim their piece of the sidewalk for their nightly business of selling themselves.
At a red light, the young man stopped and found himself in the middle of a gang war. The gang member from one group took a shot at his enemy across the street, and the young man in the Maxima was the unfortunate barrier between them. The bullet barely grazed his shoulder, and he cried out in sharp pain, managing to pull over and stop the car.
He got out of the car, intending to go get help, but in his weakened state, he attracted the wrong kind of attention. A couple of kids looking for some quick drug money noticed his stupor and decided it would be easier to give him a couple of punches than try to break into a store. They also noticed his car keys and the car running close by and put the two and two together. Soon, he was out of a car, a cell phone and a wallet.
By the time they were gone, he was in rough shape and lay smashed and dirty on the sidewalk. He lay there for what seemed like hours but was only a few minutes. He was thrilled when he looked up and saw a pastor from his local church walk by. “Help, John!” he cried out feebly, but the leader crossed over to the other side of the sidewalk and did not even look his way.
The Minister
The minister did not usually walk this way, but he was on his way to a board meeting for all the churches in his district. Unfortunately, it was in one of the rougher areas of town, and John really wasn’t used to this environment. He wished he had been able to find parking closer, but he had been forced to walk several blocks to his destination.
He saw the man lying down from a few feet away and felt nervous. Who knows what that man had been imbibing in order to be that intoxicated? Often, these people were dangerous and unpredictable. Just for security’s sake, he crossed over to the other side of the street. He was already late for the meeting, and he didn’t want any complications. “I’m sure the police will deal with him,” he thought. “I need to get going.”
A faint wave of guilt washed over him, hoping this man would be okay, but he quickly told himself that he wasn’t responsible for saving the world. “They have people for that,” he thought. “It’s not my calling.”
The Church Lady
About a half hour later, a very frequent church-going lady walked by in a rush. She was carrying a Bible, and the injured young man thought for sure she would help him. He tried to call out to her, but she did not help. Instead, she put her nose in the air and quickly walked away in horror and disgust.
The woman had lived on that street for years and had seen everything decline in the last decade. What had once been a hard-working population had been overrun by hookers, pimps and drug addicts. Every day, she heard of more horrors on the nightly news, and it made her sick. She had once been proud to live here, but now she lived in fear.
When she heard the young man call out to her, she was sure he would be begging for money to buy some more booze. She was tired of being lambasted by these welfare-dependent bums. She looked at him in disgust, anger at the way the country was going, and hurried home to her little apartment, safe with bars on the windows and a good security system. She knew she shouldn’t have gone out so late in the afternoon.
The Biker
Just as he was almost passing into unconsciousness, the young man caught a glimpse of a man in a jean vest covered with decals and tight pants. He would have been afraid of this biker under different circumstances but he had no fear left, only vacuous curiosity. “I wonder what kind of bike he drives,” he pondered.
The man, who was dressed like a biker, parked his Harley-Davidson and decided to hoof it to the bar where he was going to relax for a few hours. He had had a hard week at the mill and was looking forward to forgetting his troubles with some good friends. Later, he would grab a cab and pick up his bike in the morning. No one on the street would dare to touch it.
Just as he neared his destination, he noticed a young man who looked like he’d been beaten up pretty badly. Feeling sorry for him, he went over and gently felt his wrist. Yes, he was still breathing. “Are you okay?” he whispered, not wanting to startle him. “Not really,” the young man replied. Let me call you an ambulance …. you look like you’re in pretty bad shape. He used his cell phone to call 911, waited with the young man until they arrived, and paid the ambulance driver the $500 fee. “Take my cell,” he told the young man, “use it to call your Mom and Dad and girlfriend about where you are. And here’s a couple hundred to tide you over until you get all your I.D. straightened out. Sorry for what happened to you, man. Those guys were jerks.”
The young man left in the ambulance and went to the hospital, used the cell phone to call his family and friends and afterward called the biker to give him back his cell phone. “How can I repay you,” he asked. “Don’t worry about it,” the biker told him. “There are still a few good guys left in this world.”
Who Is Your Neighbor?
Three people passed by our young man and saw three different things. One saw a dangerous drunk, another saw a lazy bum, and one saw a person who needed help. Who was the one that helped his neighbor?
It is said to love your neighbor as yourself. Who is your neighbor? Think about this tale, and discover for yourself.
This an adaptation of a parable told by Jesus, as recounted in Luke: 10:25-37.
+++
How sad! We often find ourselves in the same situation. Either we are the one in need or the one looking the other way. There are many people who sit in the church pew every week but who put blinders on when they walk out the doors. We are called to be witnesses of Jesus in the world!!! Not in the Church! It is the people in the world who need to see the love of God in and through us.
I am not saying we need to hand out money to every person standing on the street corner. This often does more harm than good. What I am saying is that we need to be alert and looking for those individuals who are truly in pain and who need our help.
It could be a man or woman going through a divorce and whose heart is breaking. It can be an elderly person who is all alone in this world who is sick and needs a friend. It may even be the person living in your own house who feels like an outsider.
It is only when we lift our eyes off ourselves and see our world through God’s eyes that we can begin to love our neighbor as ourselves. Only then will people see and experience the love of God in a tangible way.
Think about it!
Pastor Russ
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