Fifteenth Ordinary

Luke 10: 36 – 37

Jesus said, “What do you think? Which of these three became a neighbour to the man attacked by robbers?” “The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded. Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”

“We had not time to grab anything. The water was rising and the current was already in the park. There were even some who had to leave without their pets. It was grab yourself and get.” That’s what Patti said in a video report after flooding devastated the rural area where she lived in a small caravan park off a very busy highway.

“Emotionally, the people here lost hope – for a minute,” she said. But then the volunteers showed up – more than 600 of them from the small towns all around. “They literally wrapped their arms around us. Volunteers were lined up everywhere. Cars parked along the highway. I didn’t know we could hold this many people in here. They helped us clean up and start over. They brought in truckloads – truckloads – of stuff.”

Patti was surprised to discover that she had all those neighbours, and maybe the neighbours didn’t realise it either – until the tragedy become an opportunity to come together and do a better job of being a community. Local groups formed a long-term recovery group and created a disaster relief fund.

“If there’s a need, they’re reaching out,” Patti said. “It’s still been going on since the flood. Everybody is family now. The love that’s come out of this is amazing. God bless every single one of them. It will never be forgotten.”