The Good Samaritan Wannabe…
Once upon a time there was a man who fell on hard times in his war-torn country Afghanistan. He went on a lonely and courageous journey to a far away and unknown land to seek a better life for his family. For this family he prayed every day as he was never quite sure that they were safe. He reached a country full of abundance and tolerance and managed to hook up with a cousin who happen to own his own car dealership. The cousin offered him employment. He was grateful for his job and also for the hospitality of this new country, but his heart was still with his family in Afghanistan. It is like his concern for them gnawed away at him being able to give his full attention to his job. He often made silly mistakes that embarrassed him.
So, one morning he was driving a luxurious sedan from the dealership where he worked. All the way his thoughts was again with his family, so much so that he failed to notice that the car was dangerously near empty on gas. In quite a busy street the car stalled. It was a bad spot to be stuck with an automatic vehicle without gas. Next to him, he saw that there was a church. On the other side there was a fire hall. He tried the fire hall, but regulatory procedures prohibited them from helping him out with a bit of gas. He was not a Christian and has never been inside a church but he heard of churches that helped refugee families to settle in other countries and couldn’t help himself to think of them as generous people upon hearing this. So, he gave it a shot and ran across the road into the church premisses to ask if someone could take him to a filling station.
He met up with a few woman who were preparing meals. They listened to him and understandably a bit cautious to just get in a car with a stranger, they called their pastor who was in his office at the church. The pastor listened to his predicament. This particular pastor loved cars and visited dealerships quite often. He had a generationally installed suspicion towards car dealers and had to shake off an unexpected measure of schadenfreude at the fact that a dealership’s car ran out of gas. The pastor off course, knew nothing more about the man and the reason for him running out of gas except for the fact that he was a car dealer and in a predicament. The pastor himself didn’t have his car at church this morning as he arrived by bus. He was about to break it to the man that he is unable to help. But then he was reminded him about a story about a needy middle eastern man and a good neighbour. It is always a beautiful thing when a car dealer or a pastor turns into a human being. It happens when God is present, and his love moves people closer towards each other.
Suddenly the pastor remembered that a volunteer that have been helping at a food project for the poor at their church, lived just three houses down. He took the man with him and went and knocked on the neighbor’s door. The neighbor knew the pastor well by now and immediately offered a canister filled with gas that he kept for his lawnmowers. The man gratefully accepted, and his problem was solved.
As they walked back to the car, the man introduced himself as “Osman” to the pastor and the story so close to his heart about his family just poured out of him. He asked the pastor if his church ever sponsored a family. The pastor told him that they have done it before. He invited the man to come meet the people of the congregation on Sunday 10 am when the church has its worship service. Osman said that he would. The pastor also inquired if Osman could help him sell his car. The pastor had no serious plans to sell the car but never could resist the opportunity to explore a good deal. He kind of liked the car that was now filled with enough gas to reach its dealership.
What happened next? I don’t know because it just happened this morning. Maybe nothing. Maybe so much of what is important to God. One never quite knows…which is what makes faith such an interesting adventure.
Gabriel J Snyman
October 6th 2020