Could we give the Good Samaritan a day off?

As Christians, we want to see firsthand the difference we have made and know at least for that one person, that we have had an impact. We want to be the Good Samaritan, but what if we are called to do more than just impact lives one at a time and see real lasting change?

Our Christian thinking is often tied to short-term, individual outcomes and seeing an immediate difference to a person’s life. But what about longer-term outcomes and systemic outcomes? Do the church and faith communities have a role to play?

Many of us will know the story of the kid throwing starfish back into the sea. Tens of thousands of starfish had washed up on the beach and a boy was throwing them back into the water. He was challenged that he could never throw them all back and he replied that it mattered to each one he did manage to throw back. Of course it is true that each individual outcome reflects a person, a story, a broken life restored but is it possible to do more?

Dr Martin Luther King Jr reflected on this when speaking about the parable of the Good Samaritan saying: "I of course, like and respect the Good Samaritan….but I don’t want to be a Good Samaritan. I am tired of picking up people along the Jericho Road; I want to fix… the Jericho Road"

“One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars, needs restructuring”.

In this compelling video, Andy Flannigan of Christians in politics pick up on these themes:

They are coming at it from an angle of encouraging Christian involvement in politics. But partnerships and close proximity working between churches and faith-based organisations, are also an opportunity to bring redemptive influence to a failing system.

There are two issues here: the first is that Christian ministry to the poor has so often been pushed to the fringes of the church. It comprises of projects, run by a few passionate individuals who are called to this work and are almost seen to be "professional" Good Samaritans who do this on behalf of the wider church. In the early church, remembering the poor was central to the ministry of the Apostles and part of apostolic function. It was at the heart of church. If the church of the 21st century is no longer convinced of this, it impacts how much we can influence and change the system and how much impact we can have.

The second is that because we like to be Good Samaritan, we focus on crisis intervention and meeting individual need, rather than shifting the focus of the church to working in long-term prevention.

The real outcomes that we should be striving for are twofold:

·???????Seeing churches and faith organisations involved in building resilient communities through discipleship and creating places where people can belong. This involves less handouts and more hand ups.

·???????Finding ways to bring righteousness, truth and justice to the system itself through redemptive influence in our partnerships. Working side by side as Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s in the post-pandemic rebuilding of our communities and cities will bring opportunity to see true transformation.

Maybe together instead of throwing starfish back into the sea one by one we can see a turning of the tide and give the Good Samaritan a day off from time to time.?

Matt Lambert is the CEO of Enterprise Homes Group in Wolverhampton, an organisation that in partnership with others is seeking to?#makehomelessnesshistory