One day a few years ago, I stopped by a local gas station, refueled my car and stepped inside to pick up a snack. It was late in the afternoon, and I had not had lunch. I picked a couple snacks and went to the counter to pay. The card reader at the register was having a bad day and would not read the chip on my card. It happens to all of us, I’m sure.
I had no cash, and the cashier did not have the option of entering my card number into the register. So, after several attempts with the frustrating little device, as well as wiping the chip side of the card on my shirt a few times, I gave up and asked the clerk to cancel the sale, thanking him for trying to help me. It was annoying but a minor problem.
I shrugged, returned to my car, and was ready to start it when there were several taps on my window. I glanced left and saw a very tall, enormous man. Think of a defensive end in professional football. He needed to lean over to engage in a conversation with me. I rolled my window down a couple inches.
“Yes?” I asked cautiously.
He smiled and held out some cash in his hand. He explained that he saw that I was not able to buy the snacks I had chosen and wanted me to have some extra money so I could go back and purchase them. I was struck by this little act of generosity. Whether he realized it or not, that kind giant of a man had engaged in a genuine act of love, something to which our Lord calls each of us.
I reassured my new grizzly-sized acquaintance that everything was fine and I was not in any great need or distress. I thanked him for his generosity, and we wished each other a pleasant day. It was a short but wonderful encounter with another human being, with another child of God. Whenever I think back on that encounter, I remember him as the Giant Samaritan.
That encounter led me to consider what our world could be like if there were a lot more encounters between people like that moment at the gas station. Think about it. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives us the two great commandments: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
A stranger at a gas station who offers some help to another stranger is living out those commandments, maybe intentionally, maybe unintentionally, maybe from a place of faith, maybe from a place of natural kindness, maybe something else. Perhaps a person has some of each of those elements within his or her compassion. But what a wonderful place to start and build upon, which we need a so much more of in today’s so very troubled world.
I firmly believe the tragedies that plague our world exist because so many people turn away from God and lose themselves in desires rather than the grace and calling of our Lord. I’m not going to review the litany of troubles of which we are all too well aware right now. We all know them. Way too many people are turning to anger and hatred to resolve their dilemmas, satisfy their frustrations and achieve ambitions.
Knowing all this as well as we do, I invite people of good will to find ways to step forward like that modern-day Giant (and Good) Samaritan, a big friendly guy willing to share a bit of himself with another at a gas station. The impact of even a small act of loving kindness is a powerful thing in the world today, an antidote for what ails humanity.
Our world needs infinite doses of that antidote, so let us all look for opportunities to reach out in that generous spirit. Be a reflection of God’s love. The way we treat others, the way that we seek to do what is truly good for them, is a visible expression and sign of our love for God and God’s love for us.
Let us prayerfully and thoughtfully discern what it is that we need to do to keep our faith in God alive and active through the way we live our faith, discerning prayerfully and thoughtfully how to unite ourselves with those in need. Let us search also for what will help others live out those great commandments as well.
We are not perfect. Only God is. Our humanity means that we have to work actively, and I mean really and steadily work, at living the great commandments as effectively as we are able, to understand our limited humanity and turn to our Lord for strength and guidance so we understand His will for us.
Because of our faith, we can trust that through God’s grace we can, no matter how difficult and challenging it might seem, be, to the best of our ability, people who love God and one another as we love ourselves.
So, as I finish sharing this brief tale, I offer my gratitude to the Giant Samaritan, wherever and whoever he is, for the gift he gave me, which was infinitely more valuable than the dollars in his hand: a priceless reminder of what we all should be doing with our lives.
Related to: Truly countercultural through our faith