IN EVERY GOOD ELECTION, AS FAR AS DEPENDS ON US, THE EYE OF OUR INTENTION OUGHT TO BE SIMPLE, ONLY LOOKING AT WHAT WE ARE CREATED FOR.

ST IGNATIUS

The story of the good Samaritan is one of the most well-known parables. There are several characters in the story of the good Samaritan and many of these characters we can find in ourselves from time to time. There is the poor man who was beaten and left by the side of the road. The robbers and the thugs themselves who hurt and robbed the man before disappearing and then there is the Levite, the priest that walked by and totally ignored the beaten man – that is also us. Let us ignore the plight of those around us. Let us not get involved. It is not worth the trouble or investment of time.

Then there is the good Samaritan, the one that stopped and attended to the man, that is ultimately God. He walks the same path as others and the same path in life that we do. Picks us up from the scrapheap of our own mistakes and gives us a life. Chance after chance after chance. He takes us to the innkeeper who is probably the most unappreciated person in all the gospels.

The innkeeper is minding his own business and running his own show and suddenly he is lumped with someone injured to look after. Perhaps he does not have time for this right now and who says he wants to look after the man anyway.

However he still looks after the man with unconditional love and total respect. We are never told how difficult the injured man himself was to care for. Was he nice, was he rude, was he impatient, was he loud, was he difficult?

Sometimes we are like the innkeeper but are we as compliant as the original innkeeper? Do we say yes when curveballs are thrown at us at unexpected times? What God asks of us is not usually that big. He sends people past us on the street.

We do not know how wounded their hearts are, but they ask of us a warm smile. There might be someone at the supermarket with a bad attitude. We do not know how wounded their heart is and all He asks is a healing word of encouragement or patience from us. The people we encounter in our work with the Family, we don’t know the whole story but are given a snapshot into their lives.

All He asks of us is not to judge but to meet with those we encounter with compassion and understanding and to see mercy as an ultimate value, challenging the philosophical and moral framework that ordinarily shapes our responses. We are all His innkeepers, how are we living this out today? How are we innkeepers?

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

• Can you recall a time that someone has needed you and you were too busy to help? Looking back, how does this make you feel?
• Can you recall a time that you desperately needed help from someone, and they dropped what they were doing to come and assist you? How did this make you feel?

From: Firewood for the soul, vol. 1, A Reflexion Book for the Whole Vincentian Family
St. Vincent de Paul Society, Queensland, Australia.
Text by: Samantha Hill.