Luke 11:7
Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed.
So you're driving down the road when you pass a young mom with their children on the side of the road next to their car. You see a flat tire. You feel pity, but you'd like to be on time to your appointment. Another scenario…you're concluding a day of fishing and a storm is approaching. You know you have some time before it hits, but you need to move quick. On the way in you pass a boat that is stranded. If you stop to tow them in, you and the other vessel will probably get caught by the storm. Both scenarios are inconvenient. I've been on both sides of both of these situations. You are called to help, but do you?
Today's Gospel from Luke has Jesus telling the story of a person going to the neighbor at midnight to ask for 3 loaves of bread for a visiting guest. The neighbor says paraphrasing… "Don't bother me, it's late and everyone's in bed." Yet Jesus says we should help. Situations in life arise that are almost always inconvenient, but you have to deal with them. When you pray for your dying loved one in the middle of the night, does God say, "don't bother me, I'm in bed?" No. Does God say, "I'm in the middle of solving a problem on this side of the world, I'll get to you in a minute?" No. So when life hits you in the face, try not to put it off, but instead ask God to give you the strength to help others out of kindness instead of your convenience. And do it in the spirit of kindness and positivity with a smile. You might need their help one day.
