The Gospel of the Day – 2016.07.10
Neighbor
There
was a lawyer who, to disconcert Jesus, stood up and said to him, ‘Master, what
must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the
Law? What do you read there?’ He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with
all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your
mind, and your neighbour as yourself.’ ‘You have answered right,’ said Jesus
‘do this and life is yours.’
But the man was anxious to justify himself
and said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was once on
his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands;
they took all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead. Now a
priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man,
he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite who came to the place
saw him, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan traveller who came
upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up and bandaged his
wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him on to his own mount,
carried him to the inn and looked after him. Next day, he took out two denarii
and handed them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said “and on my way back
I will make good any extra expense you have.” Which of these three, do you
think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands‘
hands?’ ‘The one who took pity on him’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and
do the same yourself.’
(NJB)
A
Teaching for All Time
Today’s gospel calls on
us to examine the depths of our conscience.
Jesus’ interlocutor asks
Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. That man; a lawyer, was looking to
gain possession of something beyond himself, looking to earn it through some
deed, some set of action, perhaps through a “way” of life, or perhaps even
simply by thinking about things in the “right” way, having the “right” beliefs,
the “right” doctrine.
Jesus does not answer his
question directly. He does not tell him what he must do to have “eternal” life.
He directs the lawyer to summarize his understanding of the law. The lawyer
knows what Jesus is looking for, and he recites the Shema, which Jesus has been
teaching from throughout his ministry; to love God above all things, and to love
your neighbor as yourself. Jesus tell the man that if he does this he will have
life, true life in the here and now. The fullness of life is the Shema.
The lawyer acts confused,
and so Jesus illustrates his point in the narrative that follows. The parable
that has come to be known as that of the “Good Samaritan.”
He tell the story about a
man who is suffering and near death. Two people pass him on the road. They
ignore him and offer no help. One of the men is a priest, and the other is a
man of a notable tribe, a Levite.
The both ignore the man’s
suffering, the reason is not given, but it has been commonly understood that
the reason is that both the priest and the Levite feared something. Perhaps
they feared violence, or they might have feared coming in contact with his
wounds, the blood from which would have defiled them and placed them in a state
of ritual impurity. Whatever the case may be; they feared something and did not
help. They were unable to see his suffering reflected in themselves.
Along comes a man of
Samaria, who tends to his wounds and provides for his recovery. The man from
Samaria has no connection to the unfortunate one, but he acts on his behalf anyway.
It is likely that he was also afraid, but that he set aside his fear in order
to serve the good.
This is the essence of
life, while fear is the road to death.
This is a teaching for
all time.
It is the human struggle
that will never leave us. It is a struggle that each of us must find a way to
overcome in our way.
15th
Sunday in Ordinary Time
