And, behold, a certain pastor stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down the Whitewell Road, from Bellevue to Greencastle, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
And likewise an Evangelical Pastor, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
But a certain Turkish Airlines executive by the name of Mehmet, in Belfast to discuss a new air link to Istanbul, journeyed past in his hire car, and came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
And went to him, and bound up his wounds, and despite worrying about what the car hire company would charge him if there was any blood found in the car, and what the police might say in a country known to be in very truth racist, set him in the passenger seat, and brought him to his hotel, and took care of him.
And on the morrow when he departed, he gave the staff a swipe of his credit card, and said unto them, Take care of him; and I will pick up the bill in next month’s statement.
Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Pray for Meriam Ibrahim, new mother in Khartoum, sentenced to a brutal whipping followed by execution, for being a Christian and a Christian woman at that. Pray also for her lawyer Mohaned Mustafa Elnour, a Muslim, facing death threats for defending her.
