One day, after feeding thousands of people and sending them away, Jesus wanted to pray alone. He made His disciples get into a boat and go ahead to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He himself, then, went up the hill to pray
Several hours later in the night, the disciples were caught in a strong windstorm. The storm stopped them from getting across the water, even though they rowed for hours. They were tired and exhausted.
As the night ended, just before sunrise, in the middle of the stormy sea, the disciples saw something walking on water. They got very scared, thinking it was a ghost. But it was their Master, Jesus, coming towards them, walking on water! Then, Jesus spoke, “It is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said loudly, “Lord, if it is you, call me to join you on the water.” Jesus said, “Come ahead, then.” Peter bravely jumped out of the boat and started walking on water towards Jesus. But when he suddenly realized that the weather was stormy, he became afraid and started drowning. He cried out, “Master, please save me!”
Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed Peter’s hand. He said to Peter, “You have very little faith, Peter. Why did you doubt me?” Then, both of them climbed into the boat and the storm calmed down suddenly. The disciples in the boat worshipped Jesus, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
Like Peter, one day, a lawyer wanted to test Jesus. He asked, “Teacher, what must I do to get eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What is written in the Law?” The lawyer answered, “Love the Lord, your God, with your heart and soul, and with all your strength and your mind; and love your neighbour as yourself.”
Jesus said, “You are correct. Do this and you will live forever.” But the lawyer was not satisfied. He asked further, “And who is my neighbour?” Jesus told him the story of a Samaritan (a charitable or helpful person)
One day, a man was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho. Some robbers attacked him. They stole everything they could find, even the unfortunate man’s clothes. After that, the robbers beat him badly and left. The man lay on the road, half-dead.
A little later, a priest was going down the same road. He saw the wounded man and quickly crossed over and went to the other side. He acted like he did not see anything.
Then, a Levite came down the road. He was a man who helped the priests at the temple. He, too, saw the wounded man on the road. He went a little closer to the man, but soon walked away on the other side, without helping him at all.
The Samaritan bandaged the wounds of the man. Then, he put the wounded man on his donkey, covering him with his cloak, and took him to the nearby inn. He looked after the wounded man all night.
The next day, the Samaritan gave some money to the innkeeper. He told the innkeeper, “Look after the man well and when I return, I will pay you for any extra expense that you may have incurred.”
The Samaritan’s actions were a true demonstration of love because he had no relationship with the wounded man. He could not have gained anything from his action. In fact, he lost time and money. The Samaritan was selfless.
Jesus now asked a question to test the lawyer who knew so much about the Law. He asked, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour of the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
The lawyer replied, “His neighbour was the man who showed kindness!” Then, Jesus advised, “Go and do the same, as a neighbour is anybody in need. Be a good Samaritan!”
