Seeking justification by checklist,
the Biblical lawyer asks who is my neighbor.  

Jesus answers by redefining neighbor,
nullifying any definition that limits love.  

I have been every person in the parable he tells—the one who helped,
the ones who walked by, the one in desperate need  

trying not to sink under the weight of evil and sickness.
God, in multiple ways, our nation can’t breathe.  

We need revolutionary mercy and today’s Good Samaritan,
who will wear a mask and still be considered pariah by the loudest voices.  

The Samaritan  will be mocked, yet walk to the need,
hand extended to clean away blood spilled by power or sickness or thieves.  

He or She or They will honor, carry a burden, pay
to preserve the dignity of a stranger. 

Let live mercy, hands and feet and heart of God