DON'T JUST STAND THERE

Luke 10:36-37 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise”

At approximately 3:20 on the morning of March 13, 1964, twenty-eight-year-old Kitty Genovese was returning to her home in a nice middle-class area of Queens, NY. She parked her car in a nearby parking lot, turned-off the lights and started the walk to her second floor apartment some 35 yards away. She got as far as a streetlight when a man grabbed her. She screamed. Lights went on in the 10-floor apartment building nearby. She yelled, "Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me!" Windows opened in the apartment building and a man’s voice shouted, "Let that girl alone." The attacker looked up, shrugged and walked-off down the street. Ms Genovese struggled to get to her feet. Lights went back off in the apartments. The attacker came back and stabbed her again. She again cried out, "I’m dying! I’m dying!" And again the lights came on and windows opened in many of the nearby apartments. The assailant again left and got into his car and drove away. Ms Genovese staggered to her feet as a city bus drove by. It was now 3:35 a.m. The attacker returned once again. He found her in a doorway at the foot of the stairs and he stabbed her a third time -- this time with a fatal consequence. It was 3:50 when the police received the first call. They responded quickly and within two minutes were at the scene. Ms Genovese was already dead.

Kitty Genovese was a name that would become symbolic in the public mind for a dark side of the national character. It would stand for Americans who were too indifferent or too frightened or too alienated or too self-absorbed to “get involved’’ in helping a fellow human being in dire trouble. Detectives investigating the murder discovered that no fewer than 38 of her neighbors had witnessed at least one of her killer’s three attacks but had neither come to her aid nor called the police. The one call made to the police came after Genovese was already dead. That incident may be the defining moment of urban apathy in the latter half of the twentieth century. When it happened, many thought the incident shocking, bizarre – but not typical of the way people respond. The question was asked, “What was wrong with those people, anyway?”

The question asked of Jesus by this lawyer in Luke chapter ten is: “What do I have to do to have eternal life?” Basically, he is asking, “What must I do to be saved?” When he asked Jesus the question about eternal life, he was asking what Jesus saw as the essential requirements of the Law. Much like the rich young ruler of Matthew he seems to be saying, “What good thing must I do in order to have eternal life?” I can just see Jesus smiling as he throws the question back in the lawyer’s lap. He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" Jesus restraints from giving the man an answer and rather says to him, “You know the law, what does it say?” "… You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and "your neighbor as yourself."’ And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live." Jesus asks the question; the man gives the answer and then Jesus responds by saying, “Good answer, now do it.”

The story of the Good Samaritan is an account of unbiased and Christ-like love that generates compassion that, in turn, generates action. How do we fulfill this requirement to love our neighbor? We don’t just stand there when they have a need. We allow that love to rise up within us. We allow it to move us to act on their behalf, not based upon their worth or even their relationship to us, but simply because we have the love of God within us.

As believers we ought to remember that compassion feels. When that Samaritan looked at that suffering man lying half-dead by the side of the road, something happened in his gut; something that made it impossible for him to walk away. He didn’t decide to help this guy on the basis of how worthy he was. He helped him because of how needy he was.

We must also know that compassion acts. The Samaritan man doesn’t pass by on the other side. He moved toward the injured man. You must move toward people to express compassion, in order to build relationships. It is not something that just mystically happens, it takes concentrated effort. It often is not convenient. But I don’t want you to forget that the Samaritan is moving toward someone who if he was conscious would despise him; someone who no doubt would not do the same for him if the situations were reversed.

Be challenged today to go the extra mile for someone in need. Let the love of God stir your heart and press you into action. It is the call of God to each one of us. He will surely honor our faithfulness in love. He has already loved us.