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One of the things I actually liked about going to church when I was a kid was the library. After mass every Sunday, there was coffee and doughnuts in the basement. But for kids, there was a library of picture books that we could borrow and bring back. They were beautifully illustrated stories from the Bible - of course. I loved those books. I loved going down every Sunday and perusing the colorful slim volumes and selecting one to bring home and read.

Obviously, I’ve lost interest in the Bible. There are some stories that stay with me. The one I always remember from those picture books and even later when I was older and actually sat to listen to the readings, was of the good Samaritan. I liked that word. It rolled around in my seven year old head as a new challenge. But the story itself always resonated.

If you don’t know it, here it is in a nutshell. A man is walking down the street. He gets robbed, beaten, and left for dead. Three men walk by. The first, a priest, ignores him. The second, another race of Romanized Judea, also ignores him. The final man, a Samaritan, takes him home, cleans him up and makes him better. This is the story Jesus tells his people. Then he tells his people that whoever does what the Samaritan does is doing the right thing. That just as he is helping a stranger, he is helping God.

So tell me, people, if so many in this country claim to love Jesus and his mercy why the HELL are we debating the right for health care? I honestly don’t get it. I really, really, really don’t understand why anyone in this country thinks it is okay to just keep on walking passed the sick and the dying and the poor. It is not okay. No matter what way you try to spin it, it is not right. It is not moral to let someone die because they can’t afford to get better. If you think it is a crime against God to kill a fetus, why isn’t it a crime against God to ignore his lesson about taking care of those who cannot take care of themselves?

It’s funny. I’m starting to realize I am more of a Jesus freak than I would like to admit. I think you should take care of people. Everybody. Not just the rich and the powerful. I think Caesar can take what is Caesar’s. I believe in letting things go and turning the other cheek. And I believe that you should treat other people as you want other people to treat you. Maybe that makes me a Socialist. But Jesus didn’t much care for capitalism either. He went to the market and made a scene. But he did care for people. He didn’t claim that any one person was better than any other. Nor was one more deserving than another. Everyone deserved to get better, even the lepers. 

I still don’t believe Jesus is my only chance at salvation. I don’t think any human being should be rendered more of a human being than any other. We are all organic beings with souls that can feel joy and hurt and decide to create joy or hurt. And not one of us – not ONE of the billions – is more entitled to have the right to conquer illness and physical pain. A Jewish carpenter figured that out two thousand years ago. Maybe we can figure it out now.