A new look at mercy

This morning I was reading the story of the good Samaritan in the book of Luke. Although I will assume most people have heard this story, I’ll recap before I get to my point.

A teacher of the law asked Jesus how to inherit life that never ends [aionous zoe]- meaning the fullness of life that belongs to God and goes on with out end.* (Luke 10:25). He wanted to know how to get on God’s “good list”, if you will.

Jesus replied with a question (typical Jesus – and typical method of dialogue at that time as well), referring the theologian back to Torah. “What is written?” Jesus asked. “How do you read it?” — Luke 10:26 (Italics mine)

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself,” he replied. Any good Jew would know this by heart.

Jesus acknowledged he had answered well… “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live. (Luke 10:28)

I find it interesting that Jesus’ answer didn’t use the same word for life. He was more focused on the person to person way to relate here (which remained more true to Torah in my mind.)

Instead, he used [zao] which means to have life worthy of your name, to be blessed.*

Think about it. When you are kind to your neighbors and live a life of integrity, people like you. It makes sense. You’re considered blessed. And in a society where honor had a lot to do with how well you took care of others and shared wealth, as well as a social structure that depended on mutually beneficial relationships (I make sure you have somewhere to live, in exchange you help tend my fields kinda thing)…… well then, yes you’d be considered someone who had a good name in the community.

Not being satisfied, the guy pressed Jesus, asking him to define what Torah meant by the word neighbor— to which Jesus replies with a story about someone getting beaten up. Both a priest and a teacher of the law pass by, yet a person from Samaria helps the guy and takes him to a local inn. So a person from a part of the country they though wasn’t worth anything becomes the hero.

As I got to the end of this familiar story, I noticed something I had never noticed before. When the scholar answered Jesus question of which person was more like neighbor, he replied:

The one who showed mercy.

Not “the Samaritan” – which I had always assumed he said. Nope.

The one who showed mercy.

I think the scholar got the point Jesus was making. It doesn’t matter who you are, whether you follow religious teachings to the letter or if you only kind of understand them, or even if you are thought to be doing it wrong by some religious groups and are not really liked. MERCY is what really mattered. THAT is what Torah is after…..it’s what God is looking for.

In Greek, the word for mercy is [eleos] – which means kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them.*

I’ve heard all sorts of sermons on why the priest and teacher of the law didn’t help the guy who had been beaten up. Maybe they thought he was already dead, or maybe they were headed somewhere that required ritual purity and so to touch the dead would make them unclean. Both are very possible. But the kicker here is that the guy from Samaria – he didn’t care. He just saw a person in need and cared for him.

Jesus basically tells the theologian to go and do that.

Set aside your own need for personal holiness or ritual cleanliness. Look at what people are going through. Be there for them. Show up. Be present. Help if you can.

I don’t think I have to tell you this applies today more than ever.

You could write this story any way you wanted:

A Republican and a Democrat both walked by the guy.. but the die-hard Socialist helped him…

A Priest and a Buddhist walked by… but the Muslim did something to help her…

A few justice focused folks walked by on a way to a rally, but the homeless guy stopped to check…

A white gun owner ignored the guy but the black teen stopped to see if he was ok….

A few conservative Christians walked by, but the trans person helped the stranger…..

A few liberal socialists walked by, but it was the conservative baptist woman who helped…

An investment banker and his buddies were out, but it was the stripper who checked on her…

Some gang bangers noticed and did nothing but the local grocery store clerk who is afraid of the gangs checked on him…

I realize these are extreme opposites, but I hope you get my point. The story of the good samaritan is about seeing people and not getting stuck in your own religious or political corner. Don’t write off someone who is hurting thinking they deserved it, or they did it to themselves (which maybe they did, who knows). Show mercy where you can and just help them get back on their feet because they are human and made in the image of God.

I realize this is a complex issue and not easy. Jesus didn’t give instructions for how much to help, how long to help, or anything. I’m not trying to either.

Yet we need to remember that this applies to more than just physical wounding – I mean, come on – its not often you see people beaten up on the side of the road. I’d like to think everyone is pretty good about checking on folks when they see an accident. But think about people that are beaten up emotionally and spiritually and left to try to keep going on their own. People that are wounded by the basic pain of being human. People trying to deal with generational trauma, people dealing with church hurt, loss of a job or loved one, or anything else we could add to this list that leaves us feeling beat up.

See them. Be people of mercy.

To add even more interesting view of this – when I did some research on mercy in Hebrew, I found that the root of the word for mercy is the same as the root for womb, conveying a sense of protection, like that of a baby in a mother’s womb. **

So this is where my mind just gets blown. God is a God of mercy, with a bent towards protection. Jesus says go and do the same, giving an example in a parable of care. So we are to be people like this too, all the while Jesus is also doing this for US – showing mercy, coming to us when WE are wounded, hurt, and cast aside. Sit in that for just a minute.

Crazy cool, huh?

That’s where my brain has been today, and I can’t stop thinking about it. I hope this gives you something to think about too!

Blessings, my friends—

Tama

References:
* Various references under Luke 10 in blueletterbible.org
* * Patheos article: “The original Hebrew meaning of mercy” by Dr Eli Lizorkin-Eyzenberg and Dr. Nicholas Schaser. https://www.patheos.com/articles/the-original-hebrew-meaning-of-mercy