To be a Christian is to be a good Samaritan

The support and solidarity expressed by numerous Christians and churches towards Ana Sofía Benítez Silvente, known as Anna Bensi on social media, and her mother, Caridad Silvente Laffita, is precisely what should be expected from those who claim to follow Jesus Christ. True Christianity cannot be limited to attending church, singing, praying, and reciting verses while remaining indifferent to the injustice and suffering of our neighbors.

Jesus began his public ministry by proclaiming, through the reading of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,” for he had been sent to announce good news to the poor and freedom to the captives. From the very beginning, Christ's message is one of truth, liberation, mercy, justice, and commitment to humanity.

And that is what we have witnessed around Anna and Caridad. Mother and daughter have faced their process with faith, strength, and dignity. Before entering the courtroom, Anna said a phrase that admirably summarizes that confidence: “The trial won’t be fair, but I have a just God.” And after hearing the judicial decision, she simply expressed it again: “God is in control.”

But they were not alone. Nearly thirty representatives and believers from different religious communities gathered at the court, prayed, sang, and told them: "We are with you." There were pastors and faithful Protestants, Sister Nadieska Almeida, and Catholic priests like Lester Rafael Zayas and Jorge Luis Pérez. Other Christians who tried to accompany them were detained or prevented from reaching the court.

Sister Nadieska perfectly summarized what it means to be Christian: "BEING, SUPPORTING, ACCOMPANYING." She expressed her admiration for the "nobility and strength" of both. Father Rolando Montes de Oca stated, "You are not alone; we are one in Christ."

In the same vein, the Western Baptist Convention of Cuba firmly declared: “We cannot, we do not want to, and we will not leave them alone.” The Assemblies of God called for “justice, truth, respect,” and human dignity to prevail. The Methodist Church proclaimed: “We do not see them as alone or forgotten,” and affirmed that, as the Body of Christ, it took on the duty to support them.

They have also joined the Eastern Baptist Convention of Cuba, Los Pinos Nuevos, the Reformed Baptist Churches Association–Berean Mission, the Cuban Conference of Religious, the Open Bible Churches, the Independent Evangelical Church, the Patmos Institute, apostolic movements, and other Christian communities. The Episcopal Church also stated, “We cannot remain silent in the face of pain.”

That is what it means to be a good Samaritan. Jesus told the story of a man who was wounded by the side of the road. Religious people passed by and ignored him. The Samaritan, on the other hand, stopped, approached, healed his wounds, and personally took on the cost of helping him. Christ ended by asking who had truly been a neighbor. The answer was clear: the one who practiced mercy.

In Matthew 25, Jesus takes this teaching even further. In the scene of the Final Judgment, He separates those who fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, welcomed the needy, clothed the naked, and visited the sick and imprisoned from those who saw the suffering and did nothing. "As you did it to one of these least of my brothers, you did it to me," Christ teaches.

There lies the difference between a living faith and a faith of appearance. Jesus never preached cowardice in the face of injustice. He said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” When Herod posed a threat, Christ had the courage to say, “Go and tell that fox,” as recorded in Luke 13:32. Christian meekness has never meant complicity with falsehood.

How can we call ourselves Christians while we see malnourished elderly people searching for food in the garbage, children suffering from hunger, desperate families, prisoners in pain, and persecuted human beings, and we remain silent? What is the point of singing praises on Sunday if for the rest of the week we pass by the wounded man at the side of the road?

Santiago expressed it definitively: “Faith, if it does not have works, is dead.” That is why those who have accompanied Anna Bensi and Caridad Silvente have given a powerful Christian lesson: they have prayed, but they have also been present; they have believed, but they have also acted.

Following Jesus requires faith, truth, courage, mercy, and commitment. Deliberate indifference towards suffering does not lead along the path that Christ taught. The Gospel warns with extraordinary severity about those who had the opportunity to love, serve, and defend their neighbor but chose to look the other way.

True faith does not hide; it takes action, accompanies, defends, fights, and loves. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., in his famous letter written from the Birmingham jail, stated that only a stagnant religion has among its ministers (and followers) people who sing the glories of God in Heaven while overlooking the conditions that make Earth a hell for humanity.

Solidarity with Anna Bensi, her mother, and all those who fall victim to the persecution and repression by the Herods of our times is the duty of every Christian.