Fall (10/07/2024)

Yesterday, our small city commons area was abuzz with activity. Vendors from the area were showing their arts and crafts and sharing their edible fall concoctions, and shoppers were wandering through the displays, browsing and buying. It was wonderful to see so many out for the event and enjoying the beautiful fall day.

We’re beginning the countdown, you know the one, that celebrates fall and then Halloween followed by Thanksgiving and ending with Christmas and the New Year. It’s that parade of seasons that looks long on the calendar but passes sometimes in what seems like a blink or two of the eye. And as I drove past the vendors and shoppers on an errand, I braced myself, it had begun.

This morning, as I sat with the LORD in prayer, waking to the day and giving thanks for my life and the lives of my family and friends, I found myself praying for those who aren’t currently blessed as we are with parade of seasons, those dealing with the devastation of the storms across the southeastern states and those half a world away dealing with the ravages of war. They are also my family. And I prayed for us all because we are in this together, we share a LORD and a world.

Then I read the gospel for today from Luke, the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan and the wounded man weren’t really neighbors. They wouldn’t have dealt with one another or socialized. They wouldn’t have lived close by one another. Those who would have been the wounded man’s neighbors passed him by in his suffering without even acknowledging his presence and need. And the LORD used the gospel to shake me a bit, to rattle my consciousness, to make me think. And I had to ponder how well I am being the neighbor I am called to be.

In this season where we in America celebrate our great harvests and offer thanks for the abundance, we must be aware of those who are not sharing in that abundance at this moment. We must be willing to open our eyes and take in the needs of our “neighbors” who are suffering. What will we do about it?

This day as we enjoy another beautiful fall day, let us take time to remember our sisters and brothers around the world and those close to home who are struggling at this time. Let us both give thanks to the LORD for the abundance we see and enjoy and seek guidance for aiding those who are suffering at the same time.

Fall has another purpose, it is a reminder to us of all of the seasons of our lives and that our lives this side of the sod are not forever, only our spiritual lives are eternal. Let us be the “neighbors” we are called to be today for surely there are many who need such a “neighbor” this day.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.