In looking for a compelling gospel illustration for his landmark encyclical, 'Sisters and Brothers All', Pope Francis naturally turned to the beautiful parable of the 'Good Samaritan.' It is a tale of involvement—it is possible to sit on the fence in indifference like the priest and Levi, but true faith demands commitment. Like these honourable gentlemen, we can all claim important distractions when faced with the need to offer true care. Strict religious law forbade these professional religious from being contaminated by the blood of the poor man mugged by the robbers. These were probably good men, but they hid in their religious shadows, most likely offering prayers and good words.

In the midst of suffering and pain, it is left to the foreign Samaritan to bring real help. From personal experience, I know it is all too easy to hide in the excuse of work and activity. If we are working so hard, spinning the multiple plates that life throws at us, then we feel we are achieving our ambitions—we are doing our job. We may well be brilliant in our action, but are we doing anything more than a well-run social service should be doing? For me, lockdown, quarantine, and solitude, forced me to become more contemplative. The pain and hurt of the pandemic has allowed me to enter more fully into the passion and suffering of Good Friday, allowing a movement towards to glory and joy of Easter Day. We are all invited to be part of that dynamism, that loving 'dance' that allows us to move forward together as a true Church of contemplation and prayer that will lead to concrete Christian action.

In the devotional exercise of the 'Stations of the Cross', we are offered an opportunity to walk with the Son in his journey of pain and tears towards his death on Calvary. It is interesting that we have three 'falls' of Jesus under the weight of the Roman Cross. In scripture, we see that his trial and execution is brought about by an uneasy alliance between religious leadership and secular oppression. In purely external, human terms Jesus was a failure! Thankfully, as people of reflection and contemplation we can see beyond that death. Arms that are stretched fully open on the Cross become the sacrament of God's ultimate love. We need to see that failure is an essential part of the Christian tradition.

In a world so geared up to success and making one's mark in the world, it might seem odd that we should need to contemplate on the notion of 'failure'. We are told, rightly, to study hard to gain examination success; then we must work hard to achieve financial success. In many ways the harder we work, the more successful we can be. Covid-19 offered, in my opinion, a giant pause button: it gave us an opportunity to sort out lives out. Was my working hard keeping me from my family and community? Was my health, especially my mental health, suffering? Did I give itself times in the day, week, month, and year to effectively contemplate—or was it a rushed 'Hail Mary' before I got on with the real duty of life?

The parables of forgiveness and acceptance show that reconciliation lies at the heart of God. In our brokenness and hurt, we will often discover who we really are. If you are anything like me, you know that you fail—only the most deeply narcissistic among us would never admit failure. To them, just admitting that you might be weak is a failure in itself. I have, honestly, come to discover late in life, that we need to embrace our failures and learn from them. It may seem harsh for the eminent spiritual thinker, Richard Rohr to proclaim that 'religion is a good place to hide from God', but there is a lot of truth in it—today's parable is a prime example of that reflection. For those unwilling or unable to face failure, then they will never be able to embrace the total gift of love given to us in the sacrament of reconciliation. It was the religious people of first century Palestine who helped to get rid of the Messiah. It was religious people who led the Inquisition. It was religious people who stayed silent in the face of over six million Jewish people being gassed in concentration camps. It is religious people who enforce political and religious divides to this day in Palestine, Nigeria, and Afghanistan. It was religious people who covered up the crimes of horrendous abuse committed by other religious people. It was religious people who upheld the slave trade and continue to reject and discriminate on the basis or colour, creed or sexuality. It is religious people who can quote chapter and verse from the Bible to support their inhuman claims. It can be religious people who are quite prepared to ignore or support you when you have fallen—religious people who might never forgive.

Religion is not meant to be a safe place that does not challenge us. Religion calls us to both contemplation and action—it is a call to be, sometimes, counter-cultural. Religion is not that comfy 'country club' that we go to for an hour of peace on a Sunday morning. We live the Eucharist in every moment of our lives: the mass lives on in what we will do and say in the coming week. Is it going to be easy? Certainly not! Jesus never promised us an easy life, but he did promise the enduring presence of God in our lives. It is my prayer that the feelings of loss, hurt, abandonment and loneliness, especially brought about by our experience of a global pandemic, will lead to a living and loving experience of resurrection. In this new life, we are called to make our religious experience something that is authentic, something that will make an impact in the real world. Let us not hide our talents and gifts, rather let us be open to that momentous 'dance' that the Trinity calls us to share.

The Samaritan made a commitment of time, money, effort and genuine care. He stands as a living icon of the real love of God. In the scrapes and worries that this week will bring, we have a strong mole option: am I going to get involved in the sufferings and needs of those I live with, or am I going to lose myself in my seemingly religious duties? In his latest encyclical 'Fratelli Tutti' Pope Francis uses the example of the 'Good Samaritan' and challenges us to be involved like the Samaritan and not be bystanders. In these difficult times there is a need for us to be involved as fully as we can

None of us are perfect and the danger is society often tells us that only the only ones who can make it are the perfect singers, the perfect dancers, the perfect painters or the perfect writers. We all deserve a chance, and we all need to take our part, bringing the gifts that only we can bring to the table. Our Church needs to encourage the gifts and talents of everyone from the youngest to the oldest—if we are waiting for the perfect, it may never come.

Author: Fr Gerry O'Shaughnessy SDB

Image: Photo by Claudio Schwarz on Unsplash