MAKE A DIFFERENCE

 

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

All travelers take risks. All travelers are wary on account of those risks. Today, we hear about three travelers: a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. Traveling down from Jerusalem to Jericho was an experience where risks abounded. The dangers were real, the risks were high. Con artists in cahoots with brigands could be found in every nook and cranny of the narrow and craggy mountain pass.

What happened to the man who fell victim to robbers coming down from Jerusalem was not a fluke. Everyone who went down that road faced the same risks. This explains why the priest hastened past. This, too, is behind the Levite’s taking precautionary measures by looking the other way and hurriedly moving on. But the third was of a different mold. He ignored the risk and stared danger in the face. He dared to be different on account of a fellowman who was in dire need of help, left almost for dead by the very same bad guys who could do the exact same thing to him at any time.

One of my vivid memories of Avenida Rizal back in the day was that it was always humming with people walking here and there, often with blank faces. It was the time when the song “The Sound of Silence” was a hit, and I thought in my young mind then that the song was written with Avenida Rizal in mind—full of people who simply walked past, ignoring everything and everyone, and merely focusing on getting their things done. It was a picture of indifference—an image reminiscent of what the priest and the Levite did as they uncaringly hustled down the mountain pass.

When was the last time you consciously behaved differently from the rest of the crowd on account of something you considered a value or believed in? Truth to tell, we all tend to go with the flow, to go where crowds go, to not rock the boat, and just be like everyone else. The priest and Levite behaved predictably, and no one condemned them for what they did—or not do.

But one man stood out. He did something. He made a difference, at least for one. Would you? Fr. Chito Dimaranan, SDB

---------- REFLECTION QUESTION ----------

If you were in a similar situation as in the parable today, how would you respond—like the Levite, the priest, or the Samaritan?

Embolden me, Lord, to make a difference in my own little world today. Amen.
Today, I pray for: __________________________