25th Sunday after Pentecost; Holy Prophet Nahum (7th century BC)
Nativity Fast.
Read
Ephesians 4:1-6; Luke 10:25-37
We’ve heard this gospel year after year, and so we are used to hearing about the generosity of the Good Samaritan. In fact, we have heard it so many times it might be easy to think that the word ‘Samaritan’ actual means something like ‘nice guy.’ But we have also been reminded time and again that the Samaritans and the Jews were archenemies. So, the help the man gets at the side of the road comes from the most unexpected place: the person the listers of our Lord had pegged as the bad-guy!
But today let’s focus on two people that we often overlook. The priest and the Levite. Busy about their duties and unwilling to risk ritual uncleanness by stopping to help a bloodied man, these are the two guys that we can probably most easily relate to. They are, after all, only going about their business- and important work it is! They didn’t ask for any trouble. And of course, they won’t receive any in this story. Nor will they receive any blessings. Unfortunately, they missed their opportunity to recognize Christ in this man by the road and to be Christ to Him by tending to his wounds.
Brothers and sisters, we often think that to be a saint we need to fly across the world and take care of homeless people. Unless we are tending to people who stink, we aren’t really holy. Holiness is the exception, not the rule. If we are honest with ourselves, we will see that we really think this way because it’s easier to keep holiness an idea than it is to minister to the very real people that the Lord has put in our lives this very moment. It is safer to think about holiness than to risk being holy!
Saints do not require extraordinary circumstances. They only need to love extraordinarily. Let us not miss our opportunity today as did the Levite and Priest. The Lord is always calling us to our dignity as Christians, to be little Christs in the world. Today, risk holiness and become the saint the Lord wants you to be!