Z.K. Pahrü Pou
BTC, Pfutsero
(From previous issue)
7. The Good Samaritan put him on his own beast (v34): The Good Samaritan probably walked on foot as he put the injured man in his own beast. Such sacrifice is unimaginable in our society. If we see a minister/officer walking on foot to accommodate a weary traveller in his vehicle, people would laugh at him/her for the sacrifice made. Real love consists in living with what is necessary and in giving away all that is extra and is not needed immediately. The Good Samaritan sacrifices the ambition to enjoy a luxurious life by himself. Are we willing to sacrifice a part of what we have to meet the basic needs of others? Should we not empty a portion of ours for the sake of other people even as Jesus emptied himself everything for us?
8. The Good Samaritan brought him to the Inn (v 34): The Good Samaritan gave his best effort to save the half-dead man by bringing him to a safer place. Have we ever in our life given our best effort to serve and save others? Is our society safe to live today? Are our sisters feeling to walk freely in our land? Many human rights activists are doing much better ministry than theological trained persons and church ministers in protecting and saving life. Should not we bring our people to a safer place to live? Should we not fight against corruption, sexual violence, poverty, killings, nepotism, tribalism and so on? Should we not make our place a safer place for all people- great and small-to live in peace?
9. The Good Samaritan gave money to the inn keeper (v35): Generosity can heal the problems of many wounded people in the world. If rich people share their wealth – money or material – there will be no poor people in our society. God has enough for everybody. Poverty is the creation of human beings. Love of money and accumulation of wealth is the cause of many evils in our society today. The worth of life is not measured by how much wealth or knowledge we accumulate. Rather life becomes stagnant like Dead Sea when we stop sharing with other people. Life finds its meaning when we share with others. Money or life is only worthy if given to those in need. When we give and help others, we feel at peace and happy. The Good Samaritan shares both his life and wealth for others. He certainly felt at peace in heart and slept well at night. Certainly there is peace and joy when we share the blessings of God with other people.
10. The Good Samaritan said: I will come back (v 35): ‘I will come back’ - is a great assurance as well as comfort for both the injured person and inn keeper. The Good Samaritan’s assurance of ‘coming back’ - brought friendship between the injured man and the Inn keeper. Probably they did not know each other but the Good Samaritan extended his ‘unconditional love’ to the injured person. We often love and care for those whom we know and are near to us. Hence, our love is limited to conditional love. We need to listen to the voices of the oppressed, suppressed and dispossessed in our society. We need to give them our assurance that we will be there when they need us.
The parable of the Good Samaritan came to an end with Jesus bidding commanding the lawyer: “to go and do likewise.” The lawyer has “to go” and not to stand there still. Not only has he “to go” but also he has “to do” what he heard. Hearing good news is not enough. Putting into action justifies one’s love for God and people. Should not we ‘go and do likewise’ today?
Friends, let us take a firm decision to live for others and reflect the love of Jesus Christ in our life. Why are we afraid to love? Of course, often love is costly. It is a loss to the one who gives it and gain to the one who receive it. The one who comes forward to love has to lose it’s time, health, wealth, freedom, friends, family, and sometimes one’s life. Often the end of love will be emptiness, cross and death. This is the reason why people are afraid to make an option for love. However, a strong decision in favour of love for people and for God could enable us to free ourselves from of all sorts of fear in our life.
