Sunday is a time for family, it always has been. This time it was in way of a special visit to my oldest son. I miss seeing him. He is living away from home and in a new place. It was long overdue. It’s tricky these days with different schedules and covid craziness. It was time! His youngest sister eagerly joined the journey (about and hour and 15 away) with the anticipation of a hug, the ‘I love you’, playing with his adorable kitty and loading some special food items (yes, that included meat of course). Unfortunately, his heat had not been functioning (old radiators) and was living in a rather cool place. It was time for mom to act. Off we went to Canadian Tire (on a Sunday is not my first choice, but, mom was on a mission). We found the isle for indoor heaters and the long awaited Christmas isle, 63. I already had planned to gift him with an indoor pre-lit tree, so that is exactly what was done. Mission accomplished. Christmas cheer, little heat and simple catching up. A moment of gratitude. He had to get to work so off we went, but we didn’t make it too far. When we first left for Canadian Tire, we passed an older gentleman in a full Scottish outfit, almost as though he stepped out of the Highlands, he was missing the bagpipes! I noted it and thought he looked a bit out of place. We arrived at an odd intersection and the light literally took forever. In that moment the same (I will call him the Scotsman) appeared, crossed the street and began talking to someone sitting at the light. Literally, he lost his balance and fell hard on the sidewalk. I was trying to watch the light so I asked Katie if he was ok, did he get up? I wondered if the people in the SUV were going to get out and help him. I was not in an easy place to get out and do much. The SUV left. The Scotsman was lying all alone, not moving. It was windy and cool. My heart sank and well, mom went on mission number 2. I pulled over and left Katie (safely!) in the truck and ran over to ask how he was and if I needed to call and ambulance. A kind man approached and began conversing with the Scotsman and I proceeded back to my truck to get my phone. Katie watched the whole thing unfold. In my sort of panic moment, I called the police, not 911! They kindly advised me to call 911 as the location shows up. Yes, that would have been a wiser choice! The ambulance arrived, he was cared for, the kind man yelled to me, “God bless you” and I returned the same words back.

When I made it back to the truck Katie was grateful he was in good hands (as was I) and proceeded to talk about the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. She was reminded of a time in Sunday School when pastor Karl was speaking and shared the story of the Good Samaritan. She remembered when he said something like this, “Wouldn’t it be crazy if pastor Robbie walked by me if I was hurting on the ground?” We had a good giggle because we know that he would not do that! He would stop and help his friend! Katie said that this was a moment just like that parable in the Bible. Yes, it was. We also talked about this verse Luke 6:31, “Do to others as you would have them do to you”. This man was hurting, alone and people passed him by, others stopped. This was an unexpected moment to, “Go and do likewise.”

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’^[c]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^[d]”²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii^[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”