Somebody’s Not Doing His Job

There is a “Peanuts” cartoon in which little Lucy asks, “Why do you think we’re put here on earth, Charlie Brown?” “To make others happy,” says Charlie. To which Lucy replies, “I don’t think I’m making anyone very happy.” Then, thinking it over, she says, “Of course nobody’s making me very happy either. SOMEBODY’S NOT DOING HIS JOB!”

In another “Peanuts” strip, Charlie Brown is sitting at a desk in his classroom, reading from a paper that’s been handed to him. “It’s about a new Course,” he says to the boy sitting next to him. “As soon as I saw it on the list, I signed up.” “What’s it called?” the other boy asks. “Remedial Living,” Charlie replies.

In today’s Gospel Lesson, Jesus gives a course in “Remedial Living” in the form of a parable which speaks to little Lucy’s complaint that she’s unhappy because “Somebody’s not doing his job.” It’s a familiar Course known as the “Good Samaritan” parable. In it, Jesus answers the…