“He went to him and bandaged his wounds…” (Luke 10:34)
Vocational letter from Yohanes Mangge CMF
Introduction
A real action and greeting other are a life mission that should not stop at the level of words. More than that, “…went to him and bandaged his wounds…” is a shared mission that should unite in every child of God, so that the story of God’s love does not stop but continues. The continuity of God’s love story will be realized if every human being has the courage to step down, get out of his comfort zone and bandage the wounds of those who are injured.
Good Samaritan: a model who dares to step out of comfort zone
The story presented by Luke about the Good Samaritan is a story that describes a downward movement, coming out of oneself and greeting others. It is a school of love that leaves us with what true love is. The loving behavior shown through the Samaritan in my opinion is an example of people who dare to go out of their comfort zone. With an open heart he went down and bandaged the wounds of the people he met. For me the comfort zone for the Samaritan is himself. It is quite possible that he felt less obligated to bandage the victim’s wounds, or to leave him to his death. But in the story that is shown, he goes out of his comfort zone, he gets out of his personal ego and goes down and bandages the wound of the victim. He put aside his comfort zone and personal ego for something higher and nobler. This act is an act of transformation both for himself, namely that he has a high self-worth, and for us as listeners of the story, namely that we are invited to change ourselves as much as possible, both in perspective and especially in real action.
Connect with my story as a formator
The story of the good Samaritan truly inspired me to reflect on the deepest meaning of my vocation as a Formator. When I reflected on this, I then arrived at a point, namely that the call to become a formator is a moment to step down and get out of your comfort zone and go share love stories and learn to knit love with the formandi. In connection with the story of the Good Samaritan and the continuation of my story as a Formator, I do not mean to say that the formandis are people who are injured or sick. I place the formandi as a space where I am required to dare to get out of my comfort zone and be together, share together and build together a good faith in God.
Serving with heart was my initial goal in carrying out my vocation as a Claretian Missionary. This cannot be separated from the life experience of St. Anthony Maria Claret. Claret emphasizes the importance of a motherly spirit in serving people of God. A mother’s heart is a heart full of love in guiding and educating her children so that they can grow and develop into a complete person. With all my strengths and limitations, I try to touch, greet them with my heart. In the journey of my vocation, which I have and am currently living, I have met various faces with different backgrounds and characters. Being with the formandi was an experience that really resonated in my heart. With them I knit stories, especially stories about vocation as a Missionary of God. In togetherness with them I also try to present something that can help the development of faith through sharing scriptures, sharing vocations, self-examination through recollections, through praying together, working together, doing sports together, and various other dynamics of community life that help us grow in this vocation. From them I got many things, and the most beautiful treasure I got was brotherhood in love. I always hope that my presence can bring God’s love in the eyes of the formandi. For that purpose, with all of myself I tried as much as possible to present something good even if only a speck, so that in the end they saw that there was Another behind me. I then asked if they had experienced this? Have I left God’s love in their hearts? Did they experience that I really stepped out of my comfort zone?
Yogyakarta (Indonesia)
May 31st, 2022.
