Year C

Readings: Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37

Go and do the same yourself

Last weekend I was with our Darwin Diocesan youth for the Breakaway retreat in Noonamah, NT. I drove up with two young men from Alice Springs for this retreat. The retreat was well attended by eighty young people from across the Diocese of Darwin and was well organised with the theme “This is Mercy.” I was really amazed how well the youth participated in this retreat.

The first day they were asked to, voluntarily, handover their gadgets so that they could be fully part of this retreat. To my surprise, almost everyone handed over their gadgets and delved into the moment and joined into the spirit of the retreat.

We had various talks on mercy, kindness, reaching out to the other, and so on, but the highlight of the retreat for me was when the youth were asked to live this ‘mercy’ with ‘acts of mercy.’ So they were asked to participate in various activities, which involved making sandwiches for the Vinnies food-van, baking cookies, brownies, muffins, making cards, juggling balls, etc. It was amazing to see how these young people, who had already given up their gadgets, had heard the talks and now were involved in doing something good for the other. The ‘mercy’ was in ‘action.’

In today’s Gospel reading, we hear the famous parable of the Good Samaritan. The total stranger reaches out to the one who was in need. Though the so called righteous people, the Levite and the priest, in the parable, failed to show mercy, this Samaritan does what the others failed to do. Jesus does not stop with the parable, he challenges the lawyer (who had asked, “who is my neighbour?”) to go out and do the same.

Today we are challenged too dear friends, to “go and do the same.” How can I be a good Samaritan in my life? Does it mean that I have to go out of my way to reach out to my fellow human being? If it is necessary and if the need arises, then yes. But we can always reach out to others in various ways. I am not going to list them out here, for we are all mature enough to know them. But I am emphasising the fact, that, as we heard in the first reading, “The Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance.”

We all have the ability to do good, as our young people did in the Breakaway retreat, as the Samaritan did to the total stranger, as the good people still reach out around the world. Let us start here and now. We are all good Samaritans, but time to time we need a bit of reminder. And through today’s Liturgy, Church does just that. Let us wake up to this call and continue to do good, even when we feel nothing good is happening. May our good God help us in our venture.

Amen.