In thinking about today’s Gospel passage and the Good Samaritan, my mind wandered back to a conversation I had a number of years ago.
Her husband was very ill and, like many in that situation, she was taking him for a hospital appointment. She pulled in her car by the footpath and battled with a wheelchair as she tried to help her husband from the car. A young man was walking past her. He was on his mobile phone. She heard him say: “I have to go, I’ll call you back.” He came to their car, helped her and stayed with her and her husband until he was safely in his chair and ready for the appointment. She didn’t know him but his act of kindness was recalled at her husband’s Funeral Mass.
The Good Samaritan isn’t a hero or someone who does extraordinary things. Rather, he or she, is one who notices something that needs to be done and does it – even if it means ending a phone call or being delayed.
I remember this unknown man today. Chances are he may not even remember this moment but the people he helped didn’t forget.
Jesus’ final words in today’s Gospel leave us in no doubt how we should respond to this story:
“Go, and do the same yourself.”