Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash In his book Jesus, the Middle-Eastern Storyteller, Gary M. Burge, Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College, shares a story told to him by a theology professor who once worked in Jerusalem. The professor spoke Arabic, so he had access to the Arab Christian community. Over the course of numerous conversations, he heard the same moving story of a modern-day Good Samaritan:
Not long ago in Jerusalem's famed Hadassh Hospital, an Israeli soldier lay dying. He had contracted AIDS as a result of his gay lifestyle and was now in the last stages of the disease's terrible course. His father was a famous Jerusalem rabbi, and both he and the rest of his family had disowned him. He was condemned to die in his shame. The nursing staff on his floor knew his story and carefully avoided his room. Everyone was simply waiting for his life to expire.
The soldier happened to be part of a regiment that patrolled the Occupied West Bank, and his unit was known for its ferocity and war-fighting skills. The Palestinians living in occupation hated these troops. They were merciless and could be cruel. Their green berets always gave them away.
One evening the soldier went into cardiac arrest. All the usual alarms went off, but the nursing staff did not respond. Even the doctors looked the other way. Yet on the floor another man was at work—a Palestinian Christian janitor—who knew this story as well and also knew the meaning of the emergency. Incredibly, he was a man whose village had been attacked by this soldier's unit. When the Palestinian heard the alarm and witnessed the neglect, his heart was filled with compassion. He dropped his broom, entered the soldier's room, and attempted to resuscitate the man by giving him cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The scene was remarkable: a poor Palestinian man, a victim of this soldier's violence, now tried to save his enemy while those who should have been doing this stood on the sidelines. …
When you understand what it means for an enemy to love an enemy—and for the righteous to show neglect—then you will have a picture of the power of God's grace at work in a person's heart.
Learning Together to Love Like Jesus...
Not long ago in Jerusalem's famed Hadassh Hospital, an Israeli soldier lay dying. He had contracted AIDS as a result of his gay lifestyle and was now in the last stages of the disease's terrible course. His father was a famous Jerusalem rabbi, and both he and the rest of his family had disowned him. He was condemned to die in his shame. The nursing staff on his floor knew his story and carefully avoided his room. Everyone was simply waiting for his life to expire.
The soldier happened to be part of a regiment that patrolled the Occupied West Bank, and his unit was known for its ferocity and war-fighting skills. The Palestinians living in occupation hated these troops. They were merciless and could be cruel. Their green berets always gave them away.
One evening the soldier went into cardiac arrest. All the usual alarms went off, but the nursing staff did not respond. Even the doctors looked the other way. Yet on the floor another man was at work—a Palestinian Christian janitor—who knew this story as well and also knew the meaning of the emergency. Incredibly, he was a man whose village had been attacked by this soldier's unit. When the Palestinian heard the alarm and witnessed the neglect, his heart was filled with compassion. He dropped his broom, entered the soldier's room, and attempted to resuscitate the man by giving him cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The scene was remarkable: a poor Palestinian man, a victim of this soldier's violence, now tried to save his enemy while those who should have been doing this stood on the sidelines. …
When you understand what it means for an enemy to love an enemy—and for the righteous to show neglect—then you will have a picture of the power of God's grace at work in a person's heart.
Learning Together to Love Like Jesus...
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