SEASON OF HOPE:
"GO AND DO LIKEWISE"

DECEMBER 2022

In Luke 10:30-37, Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance, a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 

“But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Jesus then asks: “Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘You go, and do likewise.’” 

Not long ago we had just finished giving a presentation at a church when a woman approached us. She said that she had been a guest of TRM many years ago and she and her family had stayed at the Hope Center. She then told us how much we had helped her and her family, and that the love and help that was given to them had so inspired them, they continue to help their homeless neighbors and others in need to this day. She said their ministry now is to go out and help others, just as TRM helped them. What a wonderful thing to hear! Because you - our donors, supporters and volunteers of TRM continually gift us with your love and support, we have been able to turn around and give that love and support to others. What a blessing it was to not only hear about how TRM had been there for this woman and her family, but to know that she is now going out and bringing hope to those in need herself. She is following the command of Jesus to “go and do likewise.” 

In this season of hope and good tidings, we invite you to join us in also “going and doing likewise” as we shelter hundreds of people without a place to call home, and as we reach out to many of our homeless neighbors on the streets, under bridges, sleeping in their cars, abandoned buildings or finding temporary refuge on someone’s couch. We invite you to join us as we provide thousands of meals to the hungry and hundreds of Christmas gifts to those staying at our shelters and those in need throughout the community. 

We invite you to join us in “going and doing likewise” by praying, volunteering, dropping off your Christmas gifts or making a financial gift to help us provide the basic necessities to bring help and hope to so many people in need in our community. 

We remember God’s demonstration of compassion and love for the world when He sent Jesus to us over 2,000 years ago, and we recognize the sacrifice God made in sending his only son to die for our sins, and the sacrifice Jesus made in giving up his earthly life so that we could share in the eternal life promised to us by salvation. Jesus, the Son of God we celebrate during this season, invites us to join Him in showing mercy, love and compassion to those experiencing homelessness, hunger, brokenness and hopelessness. He invites us to bring hope and healing in their season of need, so that maybe one day they too, like the woman we met that night, will “go and do likewise”!