Remembering a story well told 62 years ago

This week’s Mediahuis Irish regional newspapers’ column

Michael Commane

I can imagine most people are familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan.

It’s a lovely New Testament story. A man is travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho when he is attacked by a group of bandits. They take all he has and leave him for dead on the side of the road.

A priest and a Levite arrive on the scene. What do they do? Nothing. They pass over to the other side of the road and completely ignore the poor man.

Sometime later a Samaritan arrives. He realises what has happened the man. He has great sympathy for him and does what he can to relieve the man’s pain. He puts him on his mount and carries him to a nearby inn, where he asks them to care for him until he returns. And he pays for any expenses accrued.

It’s a great story. The two establishment figures turn up their noses and do nothing for the poor man. The Samaritan, who is considered a nobody by the ruling class, is the one who comes to the rescue.

It is the Gospel story read at Mass on Monday, October 4 and is taken from St Luke, chapter 10, verses 30 to 37.

Every time I read it I am reminded of an event that happened when I was nine or 10 years of age.

It was third class and the teacher was a Christian Brother. Back then I had no idea what age he was. In later years I discovered he was 20, 10 years older than I.

He was a great teacher. I do remember having difficulties on one occasion with him when I could not get how many inches were in a yard. 

But I can still vividly remember the day he read the Good Samaritan story in religion class. Whatever way he explained and spoke about it, it has stayed with me for 62/63 years. That’s a long time in anyone’s reckoning.

He concentrated on the kindness of the Samaritan and how he helped bandage his wounds, how he brought him on his horse from the side of the road to the inn. It was probably not a horse, but does that matter, of course not. He spent some time explaining how the Samaritan chatted with the innkeeper before he set off on his journey.

I relished every moment of the story and I can even remember how he told us about the white cloth that was wrapped ever so gently around the head of the man who had been brutalised.

And you can imagine the teacher had no time whatsoever for the priest and the Levite, who ignored the plight of the man and simply went over to the other side of the road so as to avoid him.

Isn’t it strange the aspects of our past that we remember? That man that day left an indelible mark on my psyche. Indeed, most likely we never have any idea how our words and actions influence other people. 

But certainly a kind word or gesture, a good deed never does anyone any harm. And so often it can be the most insignificant moments that leave lasting impressions.

Ok, I had trouble with the inches and yards. Come to think about it, there are no longer feet and inches but there sure is kindness. And it so happens, the teacher later went on to study mathematics.