Martine rides the subway in a major European city. All the passengers are engrossed in their phones. Virtually connected, but actually trapped in isolation. She wonders: "Are we no longer able to look each other in the eye?"
It is a common experience, especially in societies rich in material goods but increasingly poor in human relationships. Yet the Gospel always returns with its original and creative proposal, capable of "making all things new" (cf. Rev 21:5).
In the long dialogue with the doctor of the Law who asks him what to do to inherit eternal life (cf. Lk 10:25-37), Jesus answers with the famous parable of the Good Samaritan: a priest and a Levite, prominent figures in the society of that time, see a man attacked by robbers on the side of the road, but they pass by.
"But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion."
To the doctor of the Law, who was well acquainted with the divine commandment to love one's neighbor (cf. Dt 6:5; Lv 19:18), Jesus gives the example of a foreigner considered a schismatic and an enemy: he sees the wounded traveler and is moved with compassion, a feeling that springs from within, from the depths of the human heart. Then he interrupts his journey, approaches him, and cares for him.
Jesus knows that every human person is wounded by sin, and this is precisely his mission: to heal hearts with God's mercy and free forgiveness, so that they may in turn be able to draw near and share.
«[…] To learn to be merciful like the Father, perfect like Him, we must look to Jesus, the full revelation of the Father's love. […] Love is the absolute value that gives meaning to everything else, […] which finds its highest expression in mercy. A mercy that helps us see the people we live with every day, in the family, in class, or at work, as ever new, without remembering their defects or their mistakes; that helps us not only not to judge, but to forgive the offenses we have suffered. Even to forget them.»[1].
"But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion."
The final and decisive answer is expressed in a clear invitation: "Go and do likewise" (Luke 10:37). This is what Jesus repeats to anyone who accepts his Word: to become neighbors, taking the initiative to tap the wounds of the people we meet every day on the paths of life.
To live evangelical closeness, let us first ask Jesus to heal us from the blindness of prejudice and indifference, which prevents us from seeing beyond ourselves.
Let us then learn from the Samaritan his capacity for compassion, which compels him to risk his very life. Let us imitate his promptness in taking the first step toward others and his willingness to listen, to make their pain our own, without judgment and without worrying about "wasting time."
This is the experience of a young Korean woman: "I tried to help a teenager who was not from my culture and whom I didn't know well. And yet, even though I didn't know what to do or how, I gathered my courage and did it. And to my surprise, I realized that by offering that help, I myself felt cured of my inner wounds."
This Word offers us the key to practicing Christian humanism: it makes us aware of our shared humanity, in which the image of God is reflected, and teaches us to courageously transcend the category of physical and cultural proximity. From this perspective, it is possible to expand the boundaries of "we" to the horizon of "all" and recover the very foundations of social life.
Letizia Magri and the Word of Life team
[1] C. Lubich, Word of Life, June 2002: Ciudad Nueva n. 388 (2002/6), p. 17.
