Good Samaritan

Good Samaritan

Love and compassion are the basis of Christianity. God out of love,
created the world and Jesus out of love died for humanity and The Holy
Spirit out of love, continues to heal and give us life. we are today asked to
show love and compassion to all human beings. if we want others to be
happy, we should practice compassion and if we want to be happy, we
should practice compassion.

1.Today's gospel talks about a man who was in need of help. A priest who passed
by ignored the dying man.
Once a dad wants to know what his son will do when he get older. So he
placed a bible, a bottle of wine and a hundred dollar bill on a table, saying
to himself, "if he picks up the wine, he will be a wine maker. if he takes
the money, then he will be a business man and if he picks up the bible, a
rabbi". Then the son came in, he drank the wine and put the money in his
pocket and took the bible in one hand and walked away. The dad was so
surprised and said to every one, "My son is going to be a priest".
The priest didn't help the man who was dying because helping a man who
was bleeding was considered as unholy. The priest wanted to be ritually clean and pure. Our Lord says people are not for sabbath. we should not be
controlled by rituals and religious customs. They instead should free us
and help us to know God and others. Anything we do to the least of our
brother or sister we do unto the Lord.

2. Then comes a Levite and he also passed by and ignored the dying man.

One day a man came to a priest and asked, "Father, do you know what
causes lever problem?" The priest who didn't have time looked at the man who
was half drunk and was smoking and said, "you know what causes lever
problem? smoking causes lever problem. yes that is what causes lever
problem. Alcohol causes lever problem. Yes, that is what causes lever
problem. living a loose life causes lever problem.Yes that is what causes
lever problem. Then the priest calmed down and looked at the man and
asked, "why do you ask?" The man said, Yesterday I heard on TV that the
Pope has lever problem.

Levites were next to priests. So he considered helping the dying man was
not only unclean but also waste of time. He didn't want to spend time.
Today the biggest excuse we hear often is, "I don't have time". It is true
because time belongs to God. He sent us here according to His time and He will
call us back according to His time. we cannot control time but every minute we
spend for the well being of others, we spend with god. Those who spend time with God, will save more time.

Then a Samaritan came by the same road and saw the dying man. He had compassion for him and he right away extended his heart.

once a man looking the world and its suffering and misery, prayed to God saying, "God, people are hating each other. There is no peace or love in the world. war and killing are going on everywhere. we need more compassion and kindness. please send someone to change everything". That night, God said to him, "son... I have already sent someone to change everything". the man asked god, "where is that person?". God looked at him and said, "you are that person. you go and do something for the suffering and the dying, then the world will change".

Compassion is feeling the feeling of others. when we have compassion for our brothers and sisters in need, we become Samaritans, yes good Samaritans who see god in every person who is in need. we need to practice compassion because compassion is the basis of all morality. Compassion helps us to see those who suffer and in need as our brothers and sisters. It helps us to see them as our neighbour. Amen.

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY

How to enter into the Kingdom of God.

Today's gospel shows a way to enter into the kingdom of God. What will
profit a person if he gains the whole world and loses his soul. What do we
need to enter into the kingdom of God.
1.The kingdom of God is not about Money and wealth...
Once a pastor made an announcement saying, "I have a good news and a bad
news. The good news is that we have enough money to build a new church
and the bad news is the money is in your pocket".And the pastor then announced in the Church saying, "I have a hundred
dollar preaching that will last only five minutes, a fifty dollar preaching
that will last forty-five minutes and a ten dollar preaching that will last an
hour, now let us take up the collection and see which one I will preach".The Lord appointed seventy people to preach the good news. These people
represent the seventy nations of the world. Yes, The Lord asked them to go
everywhere to preach the good news. And they were asked to take nothing
with them, no money, no bag or purse. All they took with them was the
love and kindness of God; they took with them his blessings. What they
received freely from the Lord, they gave it to all without any reservation.
And everyone who came in contact with them began to experience the
unconditional love and kindness of God and everyone who came in
contact with them began to experience life an abundance of life.
2.The kingdom of God is not about power and authority...
Once an old man named Bill visited his best friend who was dying and said
to him, "we have been friends for long long time. we were powerful
people in town and we both loved baseball and now you are dying; when
you go to heaven, would you please find a way to communicate with me if
there is baseball in heaven". His friend agreed and then he died. Few days
later, while he was sleeping, he hears his friend's voice. The voice says,
"I've got a good news and a bad news. The good news is there is baseball
in heaven". "what is the bad news?" The bad news is you are pitching on
Friday". Then Bill ended up in a hospital dying, and the family called his priest.
while the priest was standing beside his bed, Bill was slowly fading away
but he still motioned for something to write on. The priest lovingly handed
him a pencil and a piece of paper and Bill used all his strength to write a
note. Then he died. The priest thought of not looking at it right away and
while he was doing the funeral for him, he opens the piece of paper and
announced to all" I know Bill. He was a wonderful man and He wrote something on a
piece of paper before he died. Now I will read it to all.. then with loud
voice he read, "Father... you are standing on my oxygen tube".
Today's gospel says that the disciples were sent like lambs among wolves.
They were not given power and authority. They were sent as they were as
ordinary and everyday people but at the same time, because of Christ's
presence among them, they performed miracles and wonders. They healed
the sick and cast out demons. They were sent two by two. The Bible says
where two or more gather in his name, there he is. Christ was with them
until the end of time.
If the kingdom of God is not about money and wealth; not about authority
and power, then what is the kingdom of God is about...?
3. The kingdom of God is all about peace.
In today's gospel, Jesus asks his disciples to share His peace with others. Where there is peace, there will be love and forgiveness. Where there is peace, violence and hatred will disappear. Peace brings non-violent approach toward all living things. And nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate a man. Nonviolence is a weapon of the strong. And Jesus asked his disciples to hold on to His divine peace that will liberate all from economical and political slavery and will give them freedom to live today and hope for the future.
Once a lady saw three old men knocking at her door and she opened the
door and asked who they were. They said, "we are money, power and
peace" And she invited them into her house but they refused saying only
one of us could come in. So she discussed with her husband and decided
to welcome peace into her home. She went out and said, "we decided to
welcome peace into our home". And when peace began to come in, money
and power also began to come in. she asked why. then peace said, where
there is peace, there will also be money and power as servants. when there is no peace, money or power will take over and there will be a big destruction.Let us bring peace into our homes. The Bibles says, "Blessed are the peace makes, they are called children of God". Let us continue to be children of God, Amen.