The Next Right Thing
by Fr. Bill Van Oss
This week a friend reminded me that the Christian life is remarkably simple. It is not easy, mind you, but it is “always about returning to the simple practice of love.”
We live in a world where we witness a lot of violence, cruelty and injustice. In our personal lives there are struggles and challenges. But we are not called to address it all at one time. We are called to do the next right thing and to take every opportunity we are given to work for the good of others, the common good.
My friend wrote: “we can only live one day, and one moment, at a time. We can only love the next person in front of us, offer our best to the next challenge, and keep bringing it all back to God’s power and grace.”
This thought really hit home as I reflected on the parable of the Good Samaritan, our Gospel reading for this Sunday. We have no idea what was going on in the Samaritan’s life the day he encountered the wounded man on the side of the road. We don’t know what he was dealing with at home or what urgent matter had him traveling on the road. What we do know is that he stopped and helped the wounded man when others had simply walked by.
He did the next right thing. He loved the person that God had put in front of him. He responded to some of the violence of our world and helped to heal a beloved child of God. He lived out God’s command to love his neighbor, and his act of loving kindness has echoed through history. All because he did the next right thing…
Peace,
Bill+
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