Compassion (Part Two): The Good Samaritan

I'm double dipping tonight...a friend asked me a long time ago to be a guest blogger on a collaborative blog, so I decided to kill two birds with one stone, and use the post for both blogs. 

I sat and waited in the temple that morning. I picked up a Bible and began reading. My fingers opened to the parable of the Good Samaritan....

“And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

And Jesus answering said,

A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, 

which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: 

and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, 

and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: 

and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,

And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, 

and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, 

and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; 

and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” 

(Luke 10:25-37)

To me, the parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most compelling parables that the Jesus Christ taught. The imagery of a man, robbed, beaten, and left for dead is a severe one, but draws such feelings of sympathy from my heart. Then, the image of the Good Samaritan, a man who was viewed by the Jewish people as inhuman, performing the most humane act of rescue. This parable is usual taught in Sunday School to encourage us to be the kind of person that the Good Samaritan was. But the levels of the parable can quickly show to us that this story is not merely about being good neighbors. The Savior was teaching a parable about the Atonement, about His own merciful redemption for our souls.

We are the “certain man” who traveled from Jerusalem to Jericho. We are the ones who have fallen among  “thieves”. These thieves could represent temptations, trials, our own incorrect decisions, or even the effects of living in a mortal world. We lie beside the road, “half dead”. The priest does not help us, the Levite does not heal, not because they will not, perhaps because they cannot. The Savior, the Good Samaritan, is the only one who stops to help, and the only one who can truly heal us. He pours in the oil of forgiveness and the wine of mercy. He forgives us of our weaknesses, our mistakes, and our sins. He comforts us when our trials become too much to bear, and when we have reached the end of our mortal strength. He binds up our wounds with His love and compassion. And not only that, but He takes us to a safe haven, an inn, where we can continue to heal and recover, and where He has paid in advance.

His mercy is beyond comprehension. His love is incredible.

No wonder He admonishes us to “Go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37). There are many who are in need of healing. Figuratively, everyone has experienced being robbed and left for dead, at least once in their lives. How many of them recognize the Good Samaritan?

When have we seen our own friends lie beside the road from Jerusalem to Jericho? When have we walked by, as did the priest and the Levite? There may be those that we can help, but have chosen not see because of the possibly uncomfortable situation it could place us in. It is true that we cannot heal those that are “half dead” , only the Savior can truly heal them . However, we can help begin their process of healing. We can reach out to them and let them know that we are there for them, that we want to help. We can pour in the oil of compassion and the wine of charity. Above all, the most important thing that we can do is to assure them that the Good Samaritan really can heal them, if they will turn to Him for aid. 

What does this have to do with being a single Mormon girl?

Everything.

Some of the wounds that He so lovingly binds up are wounds of loneliness, heartache and fear for what the future may bring, or not bring. He alone can heal me of these, He alone understands what it feels like to be alone.

And so I turn to Him, as I develop compassion for those around me, and as I learn to lean on Him when I am weak from heartache.  

Compassion (Part One): Judge Not

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Judge not, that ye be not judged.

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged;
and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye,
but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
Or how wilt thou say to thy brother:
Let me pull the mote out of thine eye—and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
Thou hypocrite, first cast the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother’s eye. (3 Nephi 14:1-2)

I’ve failed again. I’ve failed to be more like the Savior, to follow Him more closely. I find that one of my roadblocks is judging people…because of their weaknesses. Somehow, I make myself better than them. I feel the reproach acutely now.

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye…Or how wilt thou say to thy brother: Let me pull the mote out of thine eye?”(3 Nephi 14:3&4).

I’ve spent the past two days in a refining fire. I judged a friend because of their weakness. And I really judged them. I don’t have that weakness, so therefore, I was better than them. I made myself sick thinking about how awful that weakness is, how hard to bear, how hard to overcome. I racked my brain for ways that I could help change that person, to fix their weakness.

I’m just grateful that the Lord loves me too much to let me think that I’m better than others.

The other night, as the clouds were heavy with rain, I went for a walk. There was so much chaos inside of me that I couldn’t work on homework. My insides felt twisted, something that was becoming a regular occurrence. So I walked out the door and let my feet take me where my mind could find peace. I didn’t mind the cold wind whipping through my hair, nor did I mind that most of my walk was up a steep hill. The battle was internal.

“Badly done, Emma. Badly done indeed.”

I heard Mr. Knightly in my head. You know things have gotten pretty bad when the Spirit quotes Jane Austen to you to get the point across.

“[B]ehold, a beam is in thine own eye…” (3 Nephi 14:3)

I wished for the rain to come, for it to pour around me and cleanse the feelings I was having. It never came, at least, not in the physical form of rain. God showed me my own beams. I walked home with the peace that I needed, and the knots that were in my stomach were gone.

I woke up in the morning only to have the twisted feeling return to my stomach.  I was sitting on the couch writing a paper and felt it coming on. I checked the time and realized that I had a few hours before school started….I could slip away to the Temple and hopefully that would rid me of the feeling. The minute I stepped in the doors I felt the warmth and peace of the Spirit. I can’t even explain how easily the feeling melted away. After spending an hour inside that holy place, I walked out of the door, mostly healed. And I had new goals, to start removing my own beams, my own weaknesses from my life.

(to be continued...)