New York City, the summer of 1975. America's biggest metropolis was dirtier and grimier back then; we didn't stick around Times Square and walk around. My family was taking one of those Grey Line Bus Tours. We had taken the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty; by the end of the day, we had to substitute a trip to top of the Empire State Building instead of the top of the World Trade Center because emergency and police vehicles surrounded World Trade Square; Someone on one of the floors was angry and holding a whole office hostage. We saw the story that night on the Cronkite's evening news.
I remember one of the promised "sights to see" was the famous New York "Chinatown." There really wasn't much to see, except, as I recall, a poor alcoholic homeless Asian-American man, laying there in amongst the trash. It was hard to tell if he was sleeping, drunk, or unconscious. Or dying. But we didn't think about that as we quickly walked around him and on by.
A similar situation confronted people in New York just the other day. A homeless man lay face down on the sidewalk outside an apartment building, not moving. Don't know how unusual that was in that sectoin of the city. Video cameras recorded one person, and then another, and then still others (seven of them) just walking on by him. Some turned their heads to look; others stopped to gawk; one even lifted the man's body, exposing what appeared to be blood on the sidewalk underneath him, before walking away.
It was for nearly an hour that he lied there until emergency workers arrived, but it was too late. 31-year-old Alfredo Tale-Yax, a Guatemalan immigrant, was dead from several knife wounds. The Good Samaritan had died.
Oops. Wait a minute. Maybe you thought the seven that walked by were the (possible) Good Samaritans, only to fail their audition, so to speak. And that much is true. But it's also true that Mr. Tale-Yax tried to help someone; he tried to be a Good Samaritan; and that's what led to his death.
You see, Tale-Yax was walking behind a man and woman on 144th Street in Queens around 6 am April 18 when the couple got into a fight that became physical, police later discovered. When the woman looked like she needed help, Tale-Yax intervened; the man then stabbed him. Tale-Yax still pursued the man as he ran away, then collapsed.
Some are wondering whether there's any decency in this world anymore, blaming the seven people who walked by. I like to focus instead on the reality of the situation, and how it relates to the parable of the Good Samaritan.
You know, the Good Samaritan helped the injured man at a very specific location. Rarely does Jesus get that specific, but this time He did. The story takes place on the road from Jerusalem (which lies on a high plain) "down" to Jericho (which lies so low it's below sea level, not far from the Jordan River). This road was and is notorious for its danger and difficulty, and was known as "The Way of Blood" because of "the blood which is often shed there by robbers," according to an article in the Biblical Archaeologist. Some attribute "fear of being robbed or killed" as the reason the priest and the levite walk on by someone who had just been robbed and almost killed, in this parable. That could very well be one of the chief reasons. In a way, it would have been "reasonable" behavior.
We shouldn't kid ourselves. What Jesus calls us to do sometimes isn't "reasonable," and sometimes isn't "in our best interests." Some proclaim words to the effect that it's smarter to be a Christian. It's not necessarily smarter; it IS more loving, however. That we know for sure.
We cannot and should not sugarcoat the Christian life. Jesus is inviting us to life HIS life, which is sometimes a life of danger and sacrifice. HE lived that life. He died on a cross, in a bloody, tortuous, horrible death. You remember the movie "The Passion of the Christ," Gibson's movie? I've seen it twice. So much blood. I don't look forward to seeing it again. But there's a reason why Jesus puts our call in certain terms: "If any want to become My followers, let them deny themselves and take up their crosses and follow Me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for My sake, and for the sake of the Gospel, will save it." (Mark 8:34-35)
I don't know what I would have done on that New York street on April 18 -- both when that woman was being beaten, or later when Mr. Tale-Yax lay there dying. I like to think that at least I would have dialed 9-1-1 and waited around to make sure someone got help. I like to think that I would have been willing to be a witness. God's call urges me on, maybe to do more than that, even to endanger my life.
I can ignore the darker, tougher implications of the Good Samaritan parable, of God's call to discipleship. But it's not wise for me or for any of us to downplay the urgency and the danger of God's call, just to avoid its burdensome quality. God's Word is both a challenge and a mercy. Not just a mercy. Challenge + Mercy = Life.
David Hewitt
