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First Reading: Deuteronomy 30:10-14
Psalm: Psalm 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37 OR Psalm 19:8-11
Second Reading: Colossians 1:15-20
Gospel: Luke 10:25-37
Today we hear the familiar story about the Good Samaritan. Of course, this story teaches us about helping one another, but this story also has a twist. Let’s try to figure that out.
In today’s Gospel, a scribe, presumably someone well versed in the Mosaic law, asks Jesus a question designed to test him. It seems the goal was to make Jesus look foolish and to show that he does not have the credentials to be called a rabbi.
So, the scribe asks Jesus, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Now at the heart of this question is a much-debated question in Judaism during Jesus’ lifetime: of all the commandments within the Mosaic law, which one was the most important. Jesus turns the question back to the scribe, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” The scribe replies, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” But the scribe couldn’t leave it there, so he pushed on asking, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan.
There is no doubt that the primary point of this parable is that our neighbor is everyone who is in need. There are no boundaries. My neighbor is not limited by race, religion or national origin. My neighbor even includes those who break our laws, including illegal aliens. Please don’t misunderstand what I am trying to say. To show love does not mean that we condone illegal behavior or that we shouldn’t enforce our laws or that we can’t hold people accountable. But showing Christian love should influence how we enforce our laws and how we treat those who break our laws.
But there is a second and perhaps more subtle point to this parable. In this story, two people pass on the other side of the road, presumably so that they don’t come into contact with the wounded man or his blood. You see, they were both part of Jewish Temple worship and if they came into contact with blood, they would be impure and unable to worship. But look at the Samaritan. He does not worship at the Temple. When he sees the man lying in the street, he goes to help him.
Here’s the twist. If you think worshiping God is more important than helping your neighbor, then you don’t know what it means to worship God. Anyone who thinks that the commandment to love God and the commandment to love our neighbor are in competition with one another misunderstands both. Both commandments are two sides of the same coin!
John’s Gospel clarifies this point for us, “Those who love me will keep my word [that is, the new commandment to love one another], and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them,” (14:23). John’s Gospel teaches us that God is not the object of our love. God is the very source and ground of our ability to love.
When we love one another, we experience the presence of God. That is the deepest reason for the existence of the church. It is impossible to love God without loving our neighbor. This is why the Gospel can never be reduced to a private experience between God and me. I cannot find God outside of my relationship to all my brothers and sisters. Christianity is not a series of conclusions that any one of us could reach simply by thinking about it all by ourselves. Christianity is a report; it’s the Gospel; it’s the “good news,” and “news” requires that someone bring the news to us.
That’s why church is so important. The role of the church is not merely to be a bearer of the mysteries of our faith. No! Our capacity to live together as a community of believers with mutual forgiveness, our deep concern for the well being of all members of the community, and our desire to share the community with all our brothers and sisters who are not in the community is how we come to know what the word “God” means.
I suggest to you that the church most fully lives its mission and most fully fulfills its role in God’s plan of salvation by including everyone who wants to be included. The church is about inclusion, not exclusion. The church not only tells us the story of Jesus of Nazareth, but it provides us with the experience to help us understand who it is that Jesus called “Father.”
Homework! After hearing the Word of God proclaimed and after receiving the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on these two questions over the course of the week.
- First, what person was the most significant in bringing the Good News to you? To whom have you brought the Good News?
- Second, we love God by loving our neighbor. Have you ever felt tempted to try to love God and bypass loving your neighbor? When?
I think by doing our homework, we will deepen our discipleship by better understanding Jesus. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!