Kindness comes easy when we are looking for opportunities to be charitable and generous, but kindness is a struggle when we are dealing with inconvenience and offense. Today’s Gospel proclamation reminds us of a parable most of us have grown up with – the parable of ‘The Good Samaritan’. We usually analyse this in black and white; we see the priest and Levite as the villains of the story, and the Samaritan as the moral hero. We struggle to imagine ever being as cruel and insensitive as these ‘villains’ and tend to relate to the Samaritan. True enough, most of us would undoubtedly rush to rescue someone so visibly in pain as the man in the parable. However, if the victim’s cry for help was silent, and less obvious, would we still play the part of the good Samaritan?

Often, our loved ones could hurt us and cause offense during heated moments. And in these moments, it is easy to take offense by blindly clinging to our own sense of righteousness and avoid the offender as the priest did. Or else, we might ignore them out of a desire to avoid conflict, and we might walk away as the Levite did.

How often, would we ask the Holy Spirit to give us the eyes of compassion that Jesus had for His people, so that we may understand the inner wounds, and inner hurt causing this person’s rage, desperation, and/or frustration?

How many times would we draw near to someone when their wounds cause us offense, inconvenience or threaten our peace of mind? Would we notice a victim who appears fine on the outside, but robbed of their joy and peace by burdens they carry, being beaten down by the storms of life, and wounded internally?

As the Psalmist writes, the Lord’s kindness, humbles us in our pride, lifts us up when we are wounded, and loves us when we are in captivity, imprisoned by rage, envy, or any destructive emotion. This is the kindness that Jesus Christ himself personified when he dined with sinners, redeemed criminals, and freed captives. This is the kindness He teaches us about.

The neighbours we are to love, are not only those begging for help on the streets, but also those close to us, those who may not ask for our love verbally but beg for it spiritually.

As written in the First reading, the law of loving the Lord is already in our hearts and minds. Therefore, despite what our eyes may see, despite what our minds may lead us to believe, it is the love of Jesus in our hearts and on our tongues that must drive us in our lives as Good Samaritans.

Prayer: Abba Father, help us to love as You do. Teach us to love without judgement, without hesitation, and without conditions. Amen.