In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), Jesus asked the lawyer, "who of the three men who passed by the man robbed and beaten, was a good neighbor?" The lawyerreplied, "The one who had mercy and compassion on him.' Jesus told him, "Go and dolikewise."
Our news is full of stories of people whose plights are ignored by passers-by. We live in a world drowning in human needs - the hurting, the lonely, the homeless, the hungry. For most of us, people in need are problems, interruptions, nuisances. They intrude awkwardly on our privacy.They keep me from my pleasures. I agree that they need help, and I hope that someone else does help. But not me, not now, not here. I have a different agenda. It sounds familiar.
The story is told of a young man named Bob who received a new car from his brother as a Christmas present. On Christmas Eve, when he came out of his office to drive home, he noticed a street kid admiring the shiny, new car. "This yours, mister?'' "Sure Is. My brother gave it to me for Christmas." The boy was astonished. "You mean he just gave it to you, and it didn't cost you anything? Wow! Boy. I wish....His voice trailed off. What followed shook him. "I wish," the boy said"that I could be a brother like that." The young man was so astonished that he said impulsively, "Would you like a ride?" "Oh, yeah. That'd be great." So off they went, the boy's eyes sparkled with excitement. After a while he said, "Mister, would you mind stopping in front of my house?" "Ah, he wants to show off a little," Bob thought."Will you stop where those two steps are?" Almost before the car had stopped, the boy was on his way into the house. A few moments later, he came back, and Bob saw to his amazement that he was carrying his little cripled brother. "There it is, John, just like I told you upstairs. His brother gave it to him, and it didn't cost him a cent. And someday I'm going to get you one just like it, so we can go see all the things I keep telling you about." Tears were flowing freely from Bob's eyes as he took that little boy and lifted him into his car to share a ride. For years after, he said the greatest gift he received that Christmas was not the new car but the attitude of that young boy saying, "I want to be a brother (neighbor) like that."
Scripture: I John 3:17 - "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother (neighbor) in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"
Meditate: Biblical faith does not involve a series of ritual acts, but a heart relationship to God, which shapes every facet of life.
