In the Ditch
At one point in Thomas Merton’s career he was asked by the Pope to write a message from the contemplative to the man of the world. That is, he was asked to voice any words of explanation and wisdom the contemplatives might have for the ordinary person who struggled with life everyday. Before honoring this request, Merton wrote a preface in which he said, among other things, “myself and my brothers in the world we are just two men who have fallen among thieves and we do our best to get each other out of the ditch.” I was immediately drawn to that insight as one of those rare epiphanies of truth that makes everything clear, if only for a fleeting moment.
I am in the ditch. I am not the pious priest or Levite that is immune from life’s hurts. Neither am I a disdained Samaritan who has the compassion and means to bring salvation to the dying in the ditch. Rather, I am one of the hundreds of millions left in the ditch by thieves. The thieves of our world are many–poverty that rob individuals of dignity and hope; war that crushes a land with grief and despair; institutional injustice that takes advantage of the weak and voiceless; mental illness that robs individuals of rational thought and calls them “second class” citizens; unemployment that eats away a person’s confidence; addiction that crushes a person’s will; violence and abuse that leave life-long traumatic scars. The list is endless. Millions are beaten by unfriendly forces of life, robbed of those things we cherish, and left to wallow in our pain.
Christianity, being Christ-like, is much more about wiping the blood from a battered face than it is attending Sunday School. It is more about lifting a crippled woman to her feet than it is about sitting in a pew on Sunday morning. Too often, the church (including me) have stood along the side of the road gazing at the people in the ditch pointing out instructions as our way of helping. First, true help can only come from within the ditch where we touch the agony with tender hands. Second, when we are honest with ourselves, we see that we, too, need help. We too have grief, pain, and brokenness. We also have been robbed by sin and life circumstances. We are no different from those around us. My Christian faith, then, compels me to work at getting others out of the ditch even as they help get me out.
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Thanks for reminding me of the importance of looking outside myself and all my own little concerns to the hurting world out there. I always enjoy your reflections!