Modern-Day Good Samaritan
Written by Beau Hoffman
Qaraqosh, Iraq
It’s an early, humid Sunday morning about twenty miles outside Mosul. An Iraqi man kisses his wife and children as he prepares to leave his house. Although Christianity is not the predominant religion in Iraq, it has a scattered presence. The man intends to pick up his elderly mother and meet his family for church. He will travel alone because the roads can be dangerous due to the ISIS presence, which is also why he has not seen his mother in several months. Recently ISIS has focused on trying to re-take Mosul, and has been less concerned about the surrounding communities.
The dust creates a cloud behind the man’s vehicle. Very few vehicles are on the dirt road this early in the morning. After a twenty-minute drive, the man notices some headlight ahead. As he approaches, he can distinguish the ISIS flag on the horizon. At this point, it is too late to turn around. If he does, they will surely chase him down. His best bet is to continue on and to pretend that he isn’t afraid—which will be hard because he forgot to bring money for a bribe.
As he stops his vehicle at the blockade, the fighters suspect that he is headed to church because he is dressed up. In fact, he is wearing his most expensive outfit. When they realize he has no money, they waste no time pulling him from the vehicle. The ISIS soldiers beat him, strip his clothes, take his vehicle and leave him unconscious alongside the road.
The man slowly comes to, but is too injured to move, and can barely muster up enough strength to call out for help. After a couple hours passed, a well-known member of the local community drives by with his family. He is a successful business owner. ISIS benefits from the man’s business, and as a result he can travel the roads without fear. As the businessman and his family pass by, they notice the man alongside the road. The businessman’s wife insists that they stop, but the husband decides it’s in their best interest not to stop.
As midday approaches, the sun continues to intensify and the temperature rises above 100 degrees. Without water, the bloodied man would not last long in the scorching heat. He notices a dust cloud rising from the road. An Iraqi Official approaches with his armed escort. As the caravan passes, the official signals for his vehicle to pull over. He waives an armed guard to check on the bloodied man. After the guard reports back that the bloodied and naked man had no identification, the caravan drives off.
A few more hours passed, and the man loses consciousness again, this time from the blood loss, lack of water and heat. As he lay naked on the side of the road, a group of Syrian refugees pass by who had fled Syria when ISIS overran their town several months earlier. The refugees run to the bloodied man as soon as they notice him. They bandage his wounds, give him water, and as he regains consciousness, they offer him food. Although the refugees don’t have a vehicle, they help carry the man to the nearest town, and place him up in a room until his family can make arrangements to transfer him back to their home.
Detroit, Michigan
It’s 7:30 on a brisk, January Friday night. An attorney is leaving his office in Detroit, near the block of Islandview. His office is in a rough neighborhood, but as a young business owner, it is the most affordable office space. And, what better location for a criminal defense attorney—he considered himself to have a Lincoln Lawyer-like persona. He has been working especially hard over to catch-up after Christmas.
After the long week, the young attorney was excited to travel about an hour outside of the city to spend the weekend relaxing with his fiancé. He locks the front door to his office, and turns to cross the street and walk to a parking garage. As he crosses the poorly lit street, he notices a group of teens walking his direction. He recently read about a series of violent muggings, but he has never had any issues. One of the teens calls him by name, and he turns to see who they are.
As he turns, he is hit with a jolt across his right cheek, and before he realizes what happed he is lying on the ground looking up at a group of teenagers who have encircled him. The teens continue to kick him until he is unconscious, and before the onslaught stops, one teen bends down and stabs him between the ribs. These teens are “recruits” for a local gang, and had been stalking him at his office. They knew he left alone, late each night, that he was the owner of the business, and that they certainly couldn’t afford the prices per hour they were quoted when they called into the office earlier in the week. They did their homework. The teens take the young attorney’s wallet, cell phone and keys, and split up to find his car and to clear out the electronics from his office.
The attorney lays on the edge of the cold sidewalk and the grass berm along the road as the temperatures continue to plummet below freezing. The attorney eventually opens his eyes, but due to the pain in his broken legs, does not have the strength to stand. He sees car lights approaching, and lifts an arm slightly off the cold pavement to wave for help. In the car is a member of the young attorney’s church, and in fact the attorney’s fiancé’ often gets coffee with the driver’s wife. The church-family does not usually pass through this area, but they are on their way to dinner at Bucharest Grill. Knowing it is a high crime area, the husband decides not to stop, but they offer their thoughts and prayer as they drive by.
The young attorney has now been lying in freezing temperatures for almost four hours. Another car approaches (several cars have gone by, and in fact, even some people have walked past without stopping). A prominent and outspoken Christian politician who always travels with armed bodyguards, owns the approaching vehicle (series of vehicles). The brigade of black SUVs with tinted windows comes across the man, and the politician tells the driver to pull over. The politician hurriedly dials 9-1-1 to report the unconscious man, and makes sure to note his name as the caller. As he hangs up, he tells his aide to check on the status of the man in the morning and, if he survives, run a story about how the politician “saved” the man’s life. And with that, the brigade pulls away.
Not surprisingly, the police do not respond to the phone call and, as usual, are overwhelmed with their workload. Police do not often respond to this area, especially for calls about unconscious individuals because it is in between a “red-light” district and the lowest of low-income housing. People often pass out in this area after they get their drug fix or on their way home from their nightly endeavors.
One individual is walking back to her car, although she does not live in this area. She comes to visit at a local club, not because she particularly enjoys the club-scene, but because as a transgender female, that is one of the few places she can be open and feel accepted. As she walks back to the same parking lot to which the young attorney was headed, she notices the man, now motionless on the concrete. She quickly runs over to him, and notices that he is freezing and barely breathing.
She immediately calls 9-1-1, but knows no one would respond before the man freezes to death. She hurries up to her car, and pulls alongside the curb where the man lays. She kicks off her heels as she struggles to get the man in the car. She tries to give him water but he is unresponsive, so she quickly rushes him to the hospital. At the hospital she lies to the hospital staff and says she is family so that she can stay with the man.
The next day, the front cover of the newspaper reads about the heroic politician who saved the life of a young attorney.
The Bible story of the Good Samaritan is not about which group(s) of people is “better.” It is a story about who is our neighbor and, thus, whom we are supposed to love. When the rich young lawyer asked Jesus about whom he is supposed to love, Jesus goes on to tell the story depicting the “religious” as the men who pass by without offering help, and a Samaritan, the enemy of the Jews, as the one who offers compassion. I’m not saying refugees and transgender individuals are our “enemy,” but I think they often feel as if they are the enemy of the American Evangelical Church. I think Jesus wants us to seek out people who feel that the church does in opposition with the church, hurt by the church, not accept them, and to love those people as our neighbors.
The Bible says perfect love casts out fear. So whom do you fear? Take an honest look at what people you fear, and I assure you that is who Jesus is telling you to love.
Qaraqosh, Iraq
It’s an early, humid Sunday morning about twenty miles outside Mosul. An Iraqi man kisses his wife and children as he prepares to leave his house. Although Christianity is not the predominant religion in Iraq, it has a scattered presence. The man intends to pick up his elderly mother and meet his family for church. He will travel alone because the roads can be dangerous due to the ISIS presence, which is also why he has not seen his mother in several months. Recently ISIS has focused on trying to re-take Mosul, and has been less concerned about the surrounding communities.
The dust creates a cloud behind the man’s vehicle. Very few vehicles are on the dirt road this early in the morning. After a twenty-minute drive, the man notices some headlight ahead. As he approaches, he can distinguish the ISIS flag on the horizon. At this point, it is too late to turn around. If he does, they will surely chase him down. His best bet is to continue on and to pretend that he isn’t afraid—which will be hard because he forgot to bring money for a bribe.
As he stops his vehicle at the blockade, the fighters suspect that he is headed to church because he is dressed up. In fact, he is wearing his most expensive outfit. When they realize he has no money, they waste no time pulling him from the vehicle. The ISIS soldiers beat him, strip his clothes, take his vehicle and leave him unconscious alongside the road.
The man slowly comes to, but is too injured to move, and can barely muster up enough strength to call out for help. After a couple hours passed, a well-known member of the local community drives by with his family. He is a successful business owner. ISIS benefits from the man’s business, and as a result he can travel the roads without fear. As the businessman and his family pass by, they notice the man alongside the road. The businessman’s wife insists that they stop, but the husband decides it’s in their best interest not to stop.
As midday approaches, the sun continues to intensify and the temperature rises above 100 degrees. Without water, the bloodied man would not last long in the scorching heat. He notices a dust cloud rising from the road. An Iraqi Official approaches with his armed escort. As the caravan passes, the official signals for his vehicle to pull over. He waives an armed guard to check on the bloodied man. After the guard reports back that the bloodied and naked man had no identification, the caravan drives off.
A few more hours passed, and the man loses consciousness again, this time from the blood loss, lack of water and heat. As he lay naked on the side of the road, a group of Syrian refugees pass by who had fled Syria when ISIS overran their town several months earlier. The refugees run to the bloodied man as soon as they notice him. They bandage his wounds, give him water, and as he regains consciousness, they offer him food. Although the refugees don’t have a vehicle, they help carry the man to the nearest town, and place him up in a room until his family can make arrangements to transfer him back to their home.
Detroit, Michigan
It’s 7:30 on a brisk, January Friday night. An attorney is leaving his office in Detroit, near the block of Islandview. His office is in a rough neighborhood, but as a young business owner, it is the most affordable office space. And, what better location for a criminal defense attorney—he considered himself to have a Lincoln Lawyer-like persona. He has been working especially hard over to catch-up after Christmas.
After the long week, the young attorney was excited to travel about an hour outside of the city to spend the weekend relaxing with his fiancé. He locks the front door to his office, and turns to cross the street and walk to a parking garage. As he crosses the poorly lit street, he notices a group of teens walking his direction. He recently read about a series of violent muggings, but he has never had any issues. One of the teens calls him by name, and he turns to see who they are.
As he turns, he is hit with a jolt across his right cheek, and before he realizes what happed he is lying on the ground looking up at a group of teenagers who have encircled him. The teens continue to kick him until he is unconscious, and before the onslaught stops, one teen bends down and stabs him between the ribs. These teens are “recruits” for a local gang, and had been stalking him at his office. They knew he left alone, late each night, that he was the owner of the business, and that they certainly couldn’t afford the prices per hour they were quoted when they called into the office earlier in the week. They did their homework. The teens take the young attorney’s wallet, cell phone and keys, and split up to find his car and to clear out the electronics from his office.
The attorney lays on the edge of the cold sidewalk and the grass berm along the road as the temperatures continue to plummet below freezing. The attorney eventually opens his eyes, but due to the pain in his broken legs, does not have the strength to stand. He sees car lights approaching, and lifts an arm slightly off the cold pavement to wave for help. In the car is a member of the young attorney’s church, and in fact the attorney’s fiancé’ often gets coffee with the driver’s wife. The church-family does not usually pass through this area, but they are on their way to dinner at Bucharest Grill. Knowing it is a high crime area, the husband decides not to stop, but they offer their thoughts and prayer as they drive by.
The young attorney has now been lying in freezing temperatures for almost four hours. Another car approaches (several cars have gone by, and in fact, even some people have walked past without stopping). A prominent and outspoken Christian politician who always travels with armed bodyguards, owns the approaching vehicle (series of vehicles). The brigade of black SUVs with tinted windows comes across the man, and the politician tells the driver to pull over. The politician hurriedly dials 9-1-1 to report the unconscious man, and makes sure to note his name as the caller. As he hangs up, he tells his aide to check on the status of the man in the morning and, if he survives, run a story about how the politician “saved” the man’s life. And with that, the brigade pulls away.
Not surprisingly, the police do not respond to the phone call and, as usual, are overwhelmed with their workload. Police do not often respond to this area, especially for calls about unconscious individuals because it is in between a “red-light” district and the lowest of low-income housing. People often pass out in this area after they get their drug fix or on their way home from their nightly endeavors.
One individual is walking back to her car, although she does not live in this area. She comes to visit at a local club, not because she particularly enjoys the club-scene, but because as a transgender female, that is one of the few places she can be open and feel accepted. As she walks back to the same parking lot to which the young attorney was headed, she notices the man, now motionless on the concrete. She quickly runs over to him, and notices that he is freezing and barely breathing.
She immediately calls 9-1-1, but knows no one would respond before the man freezes to death. She hurries up to her car, and pulls alongside the curb where the man lays. She kicks off her heels as she struggles to get the man in the car. She tries to give him water but he is unresponsive, so she quickly rushes him to the hospital. At the hospital she lies to the hospital staff and says she is family so that she can stay with the man.
The next day, the front cover of the newspaper reads about the heroic politician who saved the life of a young attorney.
The Bible story of the Good Samaritan is not about which group(s) of people is “better.” It is a story about who is our neighbor and, thus, whom we are supposed to love. When the rich young lawyer asked Jesus about whom he is supposed to love, Jesus goes on to tell the story depicting the “religious” as the men who pass by without offering help, and a Samaritan, the enemy of the Jews, as the one who offers compassion. I’m not saying refugees and transgender individuals are our “enemy,” but I think they often feel as if they are the enemy of the American Evangelical Church. I think Jesus wants us to seek out people who feel that the church does in opposition with the church, hurt by the church, not accept them, and to love those people as our neighbors.
The Bible says perfect love casts out fear. So whom do you fear? Take an honest look at what people you fear, and I assure you that is who Jesus is telling you to love.
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