Break a Leg
Written by Tom Cooper
Today, “break a leg” means “good luck.” It once meant very bad luck.
There’s a comment commonly attributed to anthropologist Margaret Mead. In this anecdote a student asked what she considered to be the first sign of civilization. The student expected Mead to talk about fish hooks or clay pots or grinding stones. But no. Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a human femur (thighbone) that had been broken and then healed. She explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink, or hunt for food. You are meat for prowling beasts. No animal survives a broken leg long enough for the bone to heal.
A broken femur that has healed is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety, and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone else through difficulty is where civilization starts, Mead said.
To be civilized is to care for anyone who is broken in any way. Brokenness shows up in those who are hurting physically, emotionally, economically, relationally, mentally, educationally, socially, ethnically and religiously. We can directly care for some of the broken through acts of compassion. Where we can’t, we should make sure our communities, societies and governments do.
Jesus would call these acts of compassion “being a Good Samaritan.” This story is found in Luke Chapter 10:
“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.”
Three people came upon the injured man. Two religious leaders who saw him did not stop but instead, walked by. The person who stopped and helped was a Samaritan, from a small religious group that was disliked and disdained by the major religious groups of the day:
“But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’”
In this parable, Jesus explains to religious leaders what it means to love one's neighbour. A neighbour can be anyone from anywhere, even someone we despise or who despises us. Jesus' love excludes no one and neither should ours. A civilized person of today will be concerned for the “broken femurs” in our world. And “fixing broken bones” is anything that brings healing and hope to those in our society who lack the ability to heal and find hope, themselves.
We have benefited from a society that strives to be civilized and has been influenced by the example of the Good Samaritan. But we must continue to strive––to stop, and see, and offer help to the broken among us. “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.
“Jesus told the legal expert, ‘Go and do likewise.’”
Blessings
Tom