12th Sunday after Pentecost 12.8.18 Good
Samaritans
People are all around us. We could dismiss whole sections of
humanity as not of great importance to us. But Our Lord gives us a very
different example to follow.
He took a great deal of interest in us, going as far as to
die for our sins – our sins, not His.
He is the Good Samaritan, picking up - not just one person
by the side of the road - but millions of them, the whole of broken humanity.
Then He tells us that we should follow His example. If
I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash
one another’s feet. (Jn 13,14)
We are picked up ourselves from whatever darkness of sin;
then we become co-Samaritans, anxious to help others have the same experience.
There is a flow-on effect. Freely you have received; freely give. (Mt 10,8).
Material help is very important but spiritual help even more
so.
In spiritual terms, how many people are there lying on the
side of the road? Probably more than there are standing up!
A lot of people are physically active but many of them would
be spiritually in darkness, a state of death caused by sin; thrown down by
robbers (demons).
The physical and material needs are easier to fix, certainly
easier to see. Call an ambulance, or pitch in with some money etc.
But how do we help people who have spiritual problems,
especially if they are set against Christian solutions, as many are.
We can always pray for them. They can't stop that! When we pray for someone we are directing the
mercy and grace of God towards him. Maybe such a force will break down his
resistance.
We pool our faith together, becoming a collective Good
Samaritan. We can win a lot of people over (or win them back) if we pray and
act with true faith and charity.
But whatever we can do, the chief Good Samaritan is always
Our Lord Himself.
He knows exactly what every person needs, and He has the
power to provide it.
He knows the level of their resistance. Sometimes He will
use people as His agents; sometimes He will intervene directly in the lives of
people. He can send them signals, put things in their path.
They may or may not respond, but the offer is always there,
while life lasts.
We, for our part, continue to offer His mercy to people,
putting them on their feet.
Much of what we do will look like nothing is happening, but
we do not give up easily and do not stop.
Be it prayer, action, speaking - anything that helps; anything
that can be used to influence others, and to assure them that help is still
there.
Put out your nets,
baptise all nations, proclaim the Kingdom, bring them to the banquet –
there are many ways of putting it, but they all amount to saying that every
person should be in union with Our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Church testifies to the mercy of God, and His desire to
save. Even just the sight of churches dotted around the landscape will give
people a reminder that – despite living in such secular times – the Good
Samaritan is still looking for wounded people.
We still have something to say to the world, despite being
rocked by scandals and loss of numbers. There are setbacks which slow us down,
but cannot change our basic orientation – to save lives (for eternity).
We take our place with the Good Samaritan. This human race
is badly damaged and needs a lot of stitching up. It can be done.
The Good Samaritan seeks to save as many as possible - especially those who most need His mercy.
No comments:
Post a Comment