Be a Neighbor
March 4, 2011 (Friday)
Jesus told powerful stories. One of the best was the story of the Good Samaritan, found in Luke 10:25-37. A man traveled from Jerusalem to Jericho, but was attacked by thieves who beat him and left him for dead on the side of the road. A priest and Levite both saw him at a distance as they walked, and they moved to the other side of the road and looked the other way, pretending not to see the unfortunate fellow. Then a hated Samaritan came along, and he helped the man, taking the time and spending his money on him, though he was a stranger. Jesus was illustrating what he meant when he said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
A day rarely goes by that does not offer us the chance to help somebody. Sometimes the circumstances are dramatic; at other times the situation may seem like nothing special. But the motive should be the same: to do something for somebody that they cannot do for themselves. The poet said it well:
If I can help somebody, as I pass along,
If I can cheer somebody, with a word or song,
If I can show somebody, how they’re traveling wrong,
Then my living shall not be in vain.
My living shall not be in vain,
Then my living shall not be in vain
If I can help somebody, as I pass along,
Then my living shall not be in vain.*
I received a nice email this week about a homeless man helped by a rich lady. When she had been a struggling young person, the man, though now a derelict, had worked in a restaurant and had given her a meal. Now she was very rich and successful, and she gave the man a meal and offered him a job. He was grateful. His generosity had come back to him to bless him. Nice story. But Jesus offered no return for being a good Samaritan. He seemed to make it clear that generosity and goodness are virtues that are themselves their own reward.
Have you helped somebody today?
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*Words and Music by A. Bazel Androzzo
The Arizona composer Alma Bazel Androzzo was living in Chicago when she wrote her best known inspirational song, “If I Can Help Somebody”. It was published there and might have achieved only modest success had it not been for some servicemen who brought it to England at the end of World War II and sang it there. Ralph Boosey, the famous music publisher, heard it, secured the right to it, and helped make the song an international hit. A few of the varied and particularly compelling recorded versions are those of Gracie Fields, the English vaudeville star; George “Bev” Shea, soloist with Billy Graham; Tennessee Ernie Ford; Doris Day; Mahalia Jackson; Billy Eckstine, and the duet version by Dale Evans and Roy Rogers.