George Webber, speaking out of...
Illustration
George Webber, speaking out of his experience as a pastor in the East Harlem Protestant Parish in New York City, recalls a traffic accident that illumines the meaning of the Good Samaritan parable for contemporary Christians. Don Benedict, one of his colleagues, was standing on the corner of 104th Street and Second Avenue in East Harlem one afternoon when a coal truck ran a red light and hit an old man who was crossing the street.
Benedict's first impulse was to pick up the man and to rush him to the nearest hospital. He knew, however, that the law stated that an ambulance should be called. Therefore, he did not act on his first impulse, but rather stayed with the stricken man, comforting him as best he could until an ambulance came. He waited and waited. It was not until an hour and 37 minutes had gone by that the ambulance finally arrived.
In reflecting upon this incident sometime later, the ministers at the East Harlem Protestant Parish concluded that being a Good Samaritan is rather complicated in today's society. The only way they could really fulfill the biblical mandate was to get better ambulance service, and the only way to get better ambulance service was to put pressure on the local political bosses and ultimately on city hall. In a word, to help the individual in this case, also meant to be willing to attempt to change the structures of society.
--Hasler
Benedict's first impulse was to pick up the man and to rush him to the nearest hospital. He knew, however, that the law stated that an ambulance should be called. Therefore, he did not act on his first impulse, but rather stayed with the stricken man, comforting him as best he could until an ambulance came. He waited and waited. It was not until an hour and 37 minutes had gone by that the ambulance finally arrived.
In reflecting upon this incident sometime later, the ministers at the East Harlem Protestant Parish concluded that being a Good Samaritan is rather complicated in today's society. The only way they could really fulfill the biblical mandate was to get better ambulance service, and the only way to get better ambulance service was to put pressure on the local political bosses and ultimately on city hall. In a word, to help the individual in this case, also meant to be willing to attempt to change the structures of society.
--Hasler
