Words of Reflection

Once I watched a very interesting documentation on TV. The TV team wanted to find out how helpful and cooperative people are, when they see someone suffering problems and distress. So they imitated a car accident on a rural side road by pushing a car into the ditch. Not a single car stopped. Then the TV team placed a man beside the car. This man’s face was made up and looked like bleeding after his horrible accident. But even now the result of this experiment was terrifying: No one stopped his car or showed willingness to help the injured man. After some time a man approached on his bike. He did not only stop but he even asked the hurt person about his condition. Then he drove to the next house from where he called the ambulance. The person, who had the least possibilities to offer his help, was the man riding his bike. This is the tremendous but also frightening result of the TV documentation.

Jesus told a very similar story to his listeners when he talked about the parable of the Good Samaritan. He narrated this little incident to urge people to take God’s command of loving the neighbour seriously. The same way we are called to listen to this TV documentation and to the voice of Jesus. Especially now when the calendar shows us that it is the holy season of Christmas! The idea of loving our neighbour is not only directed to our loved ones but also to those who are in need and distress. The coming of Christ – and that is what Christmas is all about – demonstrates us that even God is willing to give his passionately beloved Son so that humankind may find peace and joy.