Fr. David Barnes looks at the Parable of the Good Shepherd in light of current trends on social media, where people are hurting and emoting and not seeing the hurt and emotion on the other side of their debates.
In Jesus' parable, the two men simply crossed the road and ignored the dying man. In today's world, we do something worse. We give the impression of caring by endlessly talking and posting about the situation. But does anyone stop? Does anyone stop and touch the wounded, listen to their plight, or pick them up?
In our debates, we dehumanize our opponents, I think because we don't see them face to face. And so we deny them the benefit of the doubt, while ignoring the real pain and woundedness they carry.
