Dear Brothers and Sisters:

One of my favorite paintings is "The Good Shepherd" by Vincent Van Gogh.  He often felt that he needed a good Samaritan in his life and found such a person in his brother Theo.  In the Gospel this weekend, we read that a certain Samaritan came upon a man who was robbed, beaten, and stripped of everything.  He saw him and felt compassion.

The compassionate part of the Samaritan made him draw closer.  Jesus teaches us this parable which is stunning in its lesson. The point, we learn, is not who deserves to be cared for, but rather that the man to become a person who treats everyone encountered - however alien, defenseless, shunned, repulsive - with compassion.  "You go and do the same."  The parable then is not a sentimental little story.  It is the story about a Samaritan who was despised by the Jews and risking his own life in a deserted territory who took the time to stop and to care for a bleeding, half-dead man.  It is the story about a hated enemy who in reality is a hero with a human heart.

I love Van Gogh's painting so much that I tried to copy it and I put it in the sanctuary this weekend.

Father David