Excerpt from Jesus The Storyteller: Relating His Stories to My Story

by Brian L. Harbour

Manuel of Milwaukee faced one of the most feared afflictions of our day: cancer. When the chemotherapy treatment caused his hair to fall out in patches, he shaved his head. He was very self-conscious and worried about what his friends would think. His brother Julio learned how upset he was about his appearance. Guess what Julio did? He shaved his own head and persuaded fifty neighbors and relatives to do the same thing, and then the whole bunch went to the hospital to pay Manuel a visit. It looked like a bald-headed convention!

When Julio wanted to show compassion for his brother, he chose to identify with his condition. Identification is the beginning point of compassion. See how this is spelled out in the story of the Good Samaritan. The story opens with the spotlight on a man in need. He is not identified. We don't know his nationality or occupation or if he had a family. He had been robbed, beaten, and left for dead. Three people walked by the man in need: a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan.

According to social standards of the day, the priest was at the top of the social ladder. He was an important person. Yet, for all his importance, or maybe because of his importance, he refused to respond to the man at the side of the road. He did not recognize the wounded man as a colleague, so he passed him by.

The Levite was a junior priest. He had some religious duties and carried some weight, but he was lower on the social totem pole than the priest. Jesus described the reaction of the Levite in slightly different terms than the reaction of the priest. The priest "saw him," but the Levite "came to the place and saw him" (vv.31-32). Perhaps the Levite expressed curiosity or mild pity. Perhaps he paused and looked for a moment at the poor fellow. But he did not stop or help. He passed by.

Samaritans were at the bottom of the social totem pole, spurned by the Jews. One writer of the day put them beneath Jewish slaves, Israelites with a slight blemish, Israelites with a grave blemish, and Gentile slaves. Yet this Samaritan stopped. He saw--and helped.

Why the different response of the Samaritan? I believe it was because he identified with the man in need. This does not mean the injured man was a Samaritan. We are not told that. However, like the Samaritans, he had been kicked around, and was considered a nuisance and a burden. Only the Samaritan identified with the broken, hurting man. Jesus described his response in these words: "When he saw him, he was moved with pity" (v. 33). That's where compassion begins. To be compassionate means to identify with the broken and hurting.

When we come to the place in our lives where we identify with those who hurt, then we have taken the first step toward compassion. Compassion begins when we realize that we are all together in our sinfulness, brokenness, and need. Compassion begins with identification.

Brian L. Harbour is the author of "Jesus the Storyteller", published by Smyth & Helwys Publishing. To order, go to the online bookpage or call 1-800-747-3016.

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