The New Good Samaritan (Neighbor)

OT: Amos 7:7-17 NT: Luke 10:25-37

I would like to tell you about a man named Roger Morris. Roger Morris was a contractor from the United States who was working in Afghanistan when the conflict broke out. The first night of the conflict, the city he was staying in came under heavy fire, and Roger soon found himself scrambling to flee the city. He had little warning, and as a result he was under intense fire from all directions. He was hit by shrapnel from an explosion and had seriously injured his leg, making it impossible for him to flee on foot. Very fearful for his life, he crawled into a ditch alongside the road. There he waited... and prayed.

A short while later, a US special forces platoon passed him. Roger shouted out for help, but it was quite obvious that these men had an important mission other than helping civilians. Moments later, the team vanished into the darkness. Roger’s hope left him almost as quickly as the soldiers did.

Minutes passed, minutes that felt like hours to Roger. Staring into the dark sky, he pleaded with God. Then, through the darkness, he could see the other American who was staying in the city. She was a young woman who was a mission worker with the Peace Corps. Their eyes met one another, but the mission worker only had a sad stare to return Roger. She was carrying a child in each arm while six other children followed diligently behind. She shouted something to Roger over the increasingly disturbing sounds of warfare. Roger couldn’t make it out, but assumed it was something like "I’m sorry¨ or "I have no choice." The missionary left, and sadness entered.

Roger was in severe pain and bleeding profusely. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would either die of his injuries or be found by enemy soldiers. It was a terribly long night. A fierce battle raged around him in gathering strength as his own strength faded.

When dawn came, the fighting began to subside. Roger was very weak. The early morning light began to reveal figures walking on the horizon. From the distance he could see one of the figures coming towards him. Roger’s hope sparked once again. But when the figure drew close enough for Roger to see him, it became quite obvious that he was a Muslim. At that moment, all hope left Roger and his will to live vanished. The last thing he could remember was the Muslim bending down towards him as he passed out.

When Roger came to, it took him a while to understand what was happening to him. He slowly remembered his situation and awoke to a start. He was terribly confused. He was covered in a large flowing robe, and his entire head was wrapped. His leg ached, but he could feel secure bandages protecting his badly injured leg. He was in the back of an old, beat-up Jeep. The Muslim that had approached him was in front driving. Seeing that Roger was awake, the Muslim began to speak. Roger knew the language well enough to make out about every third word. What Roger understood was "easy" and "drink." He handed Roger a drinking container and Roger drank the water quickly. Roger was not bound, nor was the Muslim holding a gun on him; they were just driving through the heavily guarded city. They passed many Al Quida soldiers, but thanks to the coverings Roger had on, not one of them took any notice of him. After driving through several small towns, they finally came to a house that was on the outskirts of the last city they had driven though. The Muslim pulled up as close to the house as he could. He turned and spoke to Roger. The words that Roger understood were "danger" and "friend." The Muslim helped Roger out of the back, and Roger limped into the house with his help. Inside, the Muslim greeted a very nervous looking man. The nervous man looked out all the windows and out both doors. He closed every shade and locked both doors. Then he sat by Roger and the Muslim. The nervous man began shouting angrily at the Muslim. The words Roger barely made out were "crazy" and "stubborn mule." The Muslim calmly spoke to the nervous man, showed him Roger’s face and his injured leg. Then the Muslim reached into his pack and pulled out a small bar of gold. He handed the bar to the nervous man, and the nervous man nodded in agreement. After this transaction, the Muslim patted Roger on the back and then darted out the door. Seconds later, Roger could hear the Jeep speed away. The nervous man took Roger to his mule and placed him on its back. The nervous man gave him a long speech, but the only thing Roger heard was "safe" and "border." They began their long journey over the steep hills next to the nervous man¡¦s house. Several hours seemed to pass as they traveled. By the second day of their travels, Roger realized that they were approaching a US Checkpoint. Roger heard the nervous man shout out in English "American... HELP!" Moments later, Roger was being rushed to an American base for medical attention. The tension finally washed free from his body, and he found himself weeping. (pause)