In our Free Store conversation on Saturday morning we talked about a story Jesus told about a Good Samaritan. Someone brought up that there was a Samaritan's Purse organization in Charlotte that gives away shoes to children that need them but we didn't think they had any relation to the story. Overall we didn't know much about Samaritans except that they were a group that was looked down upon because they married outside their Jewish race and religion. Someone brought up how every religion has its purists that look down on those that are more open and accepting of others.
We talked a bit about how groups and even individuals tend to look down on some other group or individual. Someone shared how even prison inmates, who are looked down upon by society in general, have a pecking order within the prison system. Child molesters are generally despised by even other inmates. The question was asked about what groups our society tends to look down on. Mark said that the homeless were looked down on as a group but not by everyone. Someone else said that homosexuals were often despised by others.
In the story Jesus said that a man was robbed and beaten and left to die along the road. As he lay there a priest came along the way but quickly moved to the other side of the road and kept going on his way. Our Jewish friend Karen said that this was because if the priest touched a dead body he would be unclean and would not have been able to perform his religious duties at the temple. She also said that he could have made other arrangements to help the man but didn't. The next person to come along was a Levite, who we thought was probably the priest's assistant and maybe something like a minister of music. This man also moved to the other side of the road and passed by without helping the dying man. Then the good Samaritan comes along and quickly tends to the beaten guy and arranges to have him cared for and to cover the expense. We laughed when someone said this story almost sounded like a good joke story, "A rabbi, a priest, and a minister walk into this . . ." showing that Jesus had a great sense of humor, unlike so many of his followers.
We talked about how people will often insulate themselves so they don't have to see the needs of others. The rich live in their gated communities, the middle-class live in their suburban oases, and the poor and homeless are pushed to the margins where they don't have to be seen. Someone said that it is a risky thing to open ourselves up to the people around us because if we discover that our neighbor is in need we will probably feel some kind of a desire to do something about it. We talked about how if we become aware of too much need around us we can feel overwhelmed.
Our friend Marney shared how she was learning about the importance of boundaries in her life. She talked about having to take care of four children that did not belong to her because she found it hard to say no. Karen said that women in general would often put the needs of others before their own needs. At this point Sheila talked about how she was feeling bad about not letting her homeless friends stay with her because she just needed quiet time to deal with the death of her husband Dave. She hoped that her friends would not think she was being mean or unkind but she was realizing she needed her personal space.
As the conversation moved to a close we thought that ignoring the needs of others is not nearly as satisfying a way to live as opening our lives up to others. However, we all recognized the need to have boundaries and to show appropriate love for ourselves so that we could have something to bring to our relationships with our friends.
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