Make It Happen
Opening
- A Lead Volunteer can start by formally welcoming the group to the gathering. Ask how many young adults have read the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). A follow-up question could be to ask for a “CliffsNotes” version of the passage. (Some groups may have theatrical participants willing to mime or quickly act out the scenes from this passage. You know your group best, so use what will work well for it.)
- Write on flipchart paper the following questions and introduce the themes of being a neighbor and showing compassionate action. (You will respond to these questions as a group later in the program).
- What does it mean to be Neighbor?
- How can we practice begin a good neighbor and showing compassion to others in our everyday lives — especially in a world separated by race and class.
Small Groups
- Invite young adults to read through the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) once or twice and spend some time in prayer and reflection. As they read, ask young adults to think about the following question:
- What character do you most identify with in the story — and why?
- When everyone is finished reading (10 minutes), ask people to share their answers to that question with someone sitting nearby.
- Break into small groups. Groups can remain where seated or relocate to various designated areas. Volunteer Small Group Leaders should ask the group to expound on what this story would look like in their own community/neighborhood today. Allow some time for sharing. (10 minutes)
- Next, ask young adults to identify current events that might relate to the story (e.g., police violence, Ferguson riots, immigration, homelessness, etc.). Volunteer Small Group Leaders should be prepared to get the conversation going. (10 minutes)
- Small Group Leaders can conclude by pointing out that there are connections with this gospel passage and current struggles for racial justice and immigrant justice. Clarify the fact that Jesus’ message was about treating everyone with love and compassion and recognizing everyone’s human dignity no matter racial background or country of origin.
Large Group
- Invite young adults to share some conversation or insights that surfaced in the small groups.
- Ask young adults to provide responses to the questions from the beginning and write them on the flip chart paper:
- What does it mean to be Neighbor?
- How can we practice begin a good neighbor and showing compassion to others in our everyday lives — especially in a world separated by race and class.
- You might want to dig a little deeper by asking if young adults notice prejudice or racial barriers in their everyday interactions, if so where?
- At the end, ask each young adult to share a prayer for our world and close with and all share in saying this prayer attributed to Archbishop Romero.
- The group can continue spending time together over refreshments and perhaps more discussion.
Ideas
- At the end of the program, invite young adults to think about what they should do with this story. How might they follow-up with the issues they talked about as a group? Ideas for a future gathering or service project might emerge.
- If your group of young adults are particularly social-justice minded, start a conversation about how our Catholic faith affords us the chance to live justice, to end suffering, to bring peace and how we might live this in a society where sometimes people are judged by the color of their skin? What can we do? What would Jesus do?
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