The man who falls
At the hands of thieves
Too crushed to call
For what relieves
The awful pain
He’s not my brother
He’s not my friend
My Dad, my Mother
Or any kin
Let’s make that plain
If I should aid
This stranger here
The trouble is made
Not far, but near
Ill feel the sting
My hands are clean
My conscience, too
I’ve only seen
I did not do
This awful thing
I said a word
And then passed by
I never heard
The mournful cry
I spoke my mind
You take care
Fight your fight
Ill be right here
Into the night
Then, I’ll sleep just fine
The man who fell
Among the thieves
May rot in Hell
If he conceives
My heart as stone
The man who lay
Blood-soaked, broken
What can I say
That’s not been spoken
Leave me alone
You fool! You fool!
Can you not see?
That man is you!
That man is me.
It’s our bloodstain
Tis we who fell
At the hands of thieves
Since he we failed
Who now relieves
Our awful pain?
“One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. Teacher, he asked, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
What is written in the Law? Jesus replied. How do you read it?
He answered, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and Love your neighbor as yourself.
You have answered correctly, Jesus said. Do this and you will live.
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
Jesus took up this question and said, A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.
Now by chance a priest was going down the same road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
So too, when a Levite came to that spot and saw him, he passed by on the other side.
But when a Samaritan on a journey came upon him, he looked at him and had compassion. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
The next day he took out two denariie and gave them to the innkeeper. Take care of him, he said, and on my return I will repay you for any additional expense.
Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?
The one who showed him mercy, replied the expert in the law.
Then Jesus told him, Go and do likewise.