Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 461
Lectionary: 461
Brothers and
sisters:
I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking
the one who called you by the grace of Christ
for a different gospel (not that there is another).
But there are some who are disturbing you
and wish to pervert the Gospel of Christ.
But even if we or an angel from heaven
should preach to you a gospel
other than the one that we preached to you,
let that one be accursed!
As we have said before, and now I say again,
if anyone preaches to you a gospel
other than the one that you received,
let that one be accursed!
Am I now currying favor with human beings or God?
Or am I seeking to please people?
If I were still trying to please people,
I would not be a slave of Christ.
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,
that the Gospel preached by me is not of human origin.
For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it,
but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking
the one who called you by the grace of Christ
for a different gospel (not that there is another).
But there are some who are disturbing you
and wish to pervert the Gospel of Christ.
But even if we or an angel from heaven
should preach to you a gospel
other than the one that we preached to you,
let that one be accursed!
As we have said before, and now I say again,
if anyone preaches to you a gospel
other than the one that you received,
let that one be accursed!
Am I now currying favor with human beings or God?
Or am I seeking to please people?
If I were still trying to please people,
I would not be a slave of Christ.
Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,
that the Gospel preached by me is not of human origin.
For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it,
but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
R. (5) The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
sure are all his precepts,
Reliable forever and ever,
wrought in truth and equity.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has sent deliverance to his people;
he has ratified his covenant forever;
holy and awesome is his name.
His praise endures forever.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
sure are all his precepts,
Reliable forever and ever,
wrought in truth and equity.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has sent deliverance to his people;
he has ratified his covenant forever;
holy and awesome is his name.
His praise endures forever.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
There was a scholar
of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law?
How do you read it?”
He said in reply,
“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.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live.”
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
“And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied,
“A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law?
How do you read it?”
He said in reply,
“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.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live.”
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,
“And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied,
“A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Meditation: "Go and do likewise"
If God is all-loving and compassionate, then why is there so
much suffering and evil in this world? Many agnostics refuse to
believe in God because of this seemingly imponderable problem. If God is love
then evil and suffering must be eliminated in all its forms. What is God's
answer to this human dilemma? Jesus' parable about a highway robbery gives us a
helpful hint. Jesus told this dramatic story in response to a devout Jew who
wanted to understand how to apply God's great commandment of love to his
everyday life circumstances. In so many words this religious-minded Jew said: "I
want to love God as best as I can and I want to love my neighbor as well. But
how do I know that I am fulfilling my duty to love my neighbor as
myself?"
Jesus must have smiled when he heard this man challenge him to
explain one's duty towards their neighbor. For the Jewish believer the law of
love was plain and simple: "treat your neighbor as you would treat
yourself." The real issue for this believer was the correct definition of
who is "my neighbor". He understood
"neighbor" to mean one's fellow Jew who belonged to the same covenant
which God made with the people of Israel. Up to a certain point, Jesus agreed
with this sincere expert but, at the same time, he challenged him to see that
God's view of neighbor went far beyond his narrow definition.
Jesus told a parable to show how wide God's love and mercy is
towards every fellow human being. Jesus' story of a brutal highway robbery was
all too familiar to his audience. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho went
through a narrow winding valley surrounded by steep rocky cliffs. Many wealthy
Jews from Jerusalem had winter homes in Jerico. This narrow highway was
dangerous and notorious for its robbers who could easily ambush their victim
and escape into the hills. No one in his right mind would think of traveling through
this dangerous highway alone. It was far safer to travel with others for
protection and defense.
So why did the religious leaders refuse to give any help when
they saw a half-dead victim lying by the roadside? Didn't they recognize that
this victim was their neighbor? And why did a Samaritan, an outsider who was
despised by the Jews, treat this victim with special care at his own expense as
he would care for his own family? Who was the real neighbor who showed
brotherly compassion and mercy? Jesus makes the supposed villain, the despised
Samaritan, the merciful one as an example for the status conscious Jews. Why
didn't the priest and Levite stop to help? The priest probably didn't want to
risk the possibility of ritual impurity. His piety got in the way of charity.
The Levite approached close to the victim, but stopped short of actually
helping him. Perhaps he feared that bandits were using a decoy to ambush him.
The Levite put personal safety ahead of saving his neighbor.
What does Jesus' story tell us about true love for one's
neighbor? First, we must be willing to help even if others brought trouble on
themselves through their own fault or negligence. Second, our love and concern
to help others in need must be practical. Good intentions and showing pity, or
emphathizing with others, are not enough. And lastly, our love for others must
be as wide and as inclusive as God's love. God excludes no one from his care
and concern. God's love is unconditional. So we must be ready to do good to
others for their sake, just as God is good to us.
Jesus not only taught God's way of love, but he showed how far
God was willing to go to share in our suffering and to restore us to wholeness
of life and happiness. Jesus overcame sin, suffering, and death through his victory
on the cross. His death brought us freedom from slavery to sin and the promise
of everlasting life with God. He willingly shared in our suffering to bring us
to the source of true healing and freedom from sin and oppression. True
compassion not only identifies and emphathizes with the one who is in pain, but
takes that pain on oneself in order to bring freedom and restoration.
Jesus truly identified with our plight, and he took the burden
of our sinful condition upon himself. He showed us the depths of God's love and
compassion, by sharing in our suffering and by offering his life as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins upon the cross. His suffering is redemptive because it
brings us healing and restoration and the fulness of eternal life. God offers us
true freedom from every form of oppression, sin, and suffering. And that way is
through the cross of Jesus Christ. Are you ready to embrace the cross of
Christ, to suffer for his sake, and to lay down your life out of love for your
neighbor?
"Lord Jesus, may your love always be the foundation of my
life. Free me from every fear and selfish-concern that I may freely give myself
in loving service to others, even to the point of laying my life down for their
sake."
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Jesus Breaks the Habit of Putting Limits on Our Love |
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October 6, 2014. Monday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary
Time
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Luke 10:25-37
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and
said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said
to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" He said
in reply, "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." He replied to him, "You have answered
correctly; do this and you will live." But because he wished to justify
himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied,
"A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest
happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the
opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he
passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil
and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own
animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. The next day he took out two
silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ´Take care
of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my
way back.´ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers´
victim?" He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy."
Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the master of the universe, and yet
you wish to listen to me and guide me. You know all things past, present and
future, and yet you respect my freedom to choose you. Holy Trinity, you are
completely happy and fulfilled on your own, and yet you have generously
brought us into existence. You are our fulfillment. Thank you for the gift of
yourself. I offer the littleness of myself in return, knowing you are pleased
with what I have to give.
Petition: Lord, help me to be like the Good Samaritan.
1. Love Our Neighbor Above Ourselves: The people
listening to Jesus would all admit that they should love God above all things.
Maybe many didn’t practice it well, but they at least pretended to love him
outwardly by living his commandments. Love of neighbor was another matter.
The Jewish Law of the Talion put a limit on vengeful action: “An eye for an
eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But Jesus wants to take things to a whole new
level – the level of brotherly love. He wants us to live a love for others
inspired by the love he showed for us on the cross. We were his enemies,
addicted to sin. He owed us nothing, yet he died for our sake. In times past,
it was common to abuse the poor and the handicapped as people cursed by God
on account of some sin. Now, Jesus proposes to love all, regardless of their
condition. Do I strive to love this way?
2. It’s Not Enough to Love Those Close to Me: Probably
most of us, like those listening to Jesus, accept that we need to love and
serve God, and obey the commandments. But when it comes to loving others, we
fail. Sometimes it seems that I have a difficult time loving even those who
are closest to me. Those I see on a daily basis are often the ones that have
to bear the worst in me. They suffer the most from my impatience, anger and
lack of self-control. Why does this happen? Is it because the love I have for
my family and closest friends is a selfish love? Is it because I am looking
for what they can do for me instead of what I could be doing for them? Love’s
response should always be that I haven’t done enough, that I can never do
enough – because real love has no limits.
3. Love Your Enemies: Jesus also asks us to love our
enemies. In the parable, the victim receives help from someone he, as a Jew,
would have considered to be inferior and an enemy – a Samaritan. Although
their lands were adjoining, historical circumstances caused them to carry grudges
against each other and avoid each other as much as possible. Yet it is a
Samaritan whom Jesus makes the hero of the parable. In seeing the man’s
distress, and stopping to help and care for him, Jesus makes him the image of
himself. St. Augustine says that the Samaritan represents Jesus and the
victim represents humanity. When we couldn’t help ourselves, when we were
estranged from God’s friendship because of our sins, God in his love stopped
to help us. This is the love Jesus wants us to practice – the same love he
practiced on the cross. "Go and do likewise," he tells us.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, I am sorry for accepting your
love for me on the cross while failing to love others in the same way. Don’t
let me get discouraged by my little daily setbacks as I try to love more, but
encourage me to be more like you, to be a Good Samaritan to all I meet.
Resolution: I will remove the limits I have placed on loving someone
close to me – my spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters, close friends,
co-workers – and be patient and understanding at moments when I don’t feel
like loving.
By Father James Swanson, LC |
MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, LUKE 10:25-37
(Galatians 1:6-12, Psalm 111)
(Galatians 1:6-12, Psalm 111)
KEY VERSE: "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" (v 27).
READING: A scribe, who was well versed in the Law of Moses, asked Jesus: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus asked him what was written in the law. The scribe answered correctly that he must love God and neighbor as himself. Hoping to put Jesus to the test, the scribe then asked: "Who is my neighbor?" In his parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus reversed the scribe's narrow view of 'neighbor' as only those who belonged to the people of Israel, by contrasting the attitudes of three witnesses to the scene of a victim who had been beaten half-dead. A priest and Levite passed him by but they did not stop to help, probably because they didn't want to risk the possibility of ritual impurity. Their piety got in the way of their charity. But an outsider, a Samaritan, came to the man's rescue. There was deep hostility between Jews and Samaritans, and the words 'Samaritan' and 'neighbor' were generally not used together. But Jesus made the supposed villain into the hero. He asked the scribe, "Who was neighbor to the wounded man?" And the scribe answered, "The one who showed him mercy." Jesus told this legal expert to go and do likewise to the "neighbor" he would meet along the way.
REFLECTING: Do I have compassion toward people who do not meet my standards?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to see you in the suffering people I meet each day.
Optional Memorial of Bruno, priest
Ordained in 1055, Bruno presided over the cathedral school at Reims from 1057 to 1075. He criticized the worldliness he saw in his fellow clergy. He received a vision of a secluded hermitage where he could spend his life becoming closer to God. He retired to a mountain near Chartreuse in Dauphiny in 1084 and founded what became the first house of the Carthusian Order. Bruno and his brothers worked as manuscript copyists. He was an assistant to Pope Urban II in 1090, and supported his efforts at reform. Retiring from public life, he and his companions built a hermitage at Torre, where in 1095 the monastery of St. Stephen was built. Bruno combined in the religious life the eremetical (hermit) and the cenobitic (communal). His learning is apparent from his scriptural commentaries.
Optional Memorial of Blessed Marie-Rose
Durocher, virgin
Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, whose canonization is pending, was born in Quebec City, Canada in 1811 as the tenth of eleven children into a good Catholic family. One of her brothers, a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate priest, asked Marie, when she turned 18, to help at his parish where she served as a lay apostle for thirteen years. With the assistance of the Oblates, she established the first parish sodality in all of Canada. In 1843 she so impressed her Bishop that he asked her to found the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. In keeping with the Oblate mission of ministering to the poorest and most abandoned children, Marie Rose recruited many women to join. She died a happy death in 1849 and ten years later the Sisters expanded into the United States with a mission in Oregon. Pope John Paul II beatified Marie on May 23, 1982.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
All or Nothing
Great saints are both courageous and creative; they are “yes, and”
or non-dual thinkers who never get trapped in the small world of “either-or”
except in the ways of love and courage, where they are indeed all or nothing
October
6
St. Bruno
(1030?-1101)
St. Bruno
(1030?-1101)
This saint has the honor of having founded a religious order
which, as the saying goes, has never had to be reformed because it was never
deformed. No doubt both the founder and the members would reject such high
praise, but it is an indication of the saint's intense love of a penitential
life in solitude.
Bruno was
born in Cologne, Germany, became a famous teacher at Rheims and was appointed
chancellor of the archdiocese at the age of 45. He supported Pope Gregory
VII in his fight against the decadence of the clergy and took part in the
removal of his own scandalous archbishop, Manasses. Bruno suffered the
plundering of his house for his pains.
He had a
dream of living in solitude and prayer, and persuaded a few friends to join him
in a hermitage. After a while he felt the place unsuitable and, through a
friend, was given some land which was to become famous for his foundation
"in the Chartreuse" (from which comes the word Carthusians). The
climate, desert, mountainous terrain and inaccessibility guaranteed silence,
poverty and small numbers.
Bruno and
his friends built an oratory with small individual cells at a distance from
each other. They met for Matins and Vespers each day and spent the rest of the
time in solitude, eating together only on great feasts. Their chief work was
copying manuscripts.
The pope,
hearing of Bruno's holiness, called for his assistance in Rome. When the pope
had to flee Rome, Bruno pulled up stakes again, and spent his last years (after
refusing a bishopric) in the wilderness of Calabria.
He was
never formally canonized, because the Carthusians were averse to all occasions
of publicity. However Pope Clement X extended his feast to the whole Church in
1674.
Comment:
If there is always a certain uneasy questioning of the contemplative life, there is an even greater puzzlement about the extremely penitential combination of community and hermit life lived by the Carthusians.
If there is always a certain uneasy questioning of the contemplative life, there is an even greater puzzlement about the extremely penitential combination of community and hermit life lived by the Carthusians.
Quote:
“Members of those communities which are totally dedicated to contemplation give themselves to God alone in solitude and silence and through constant prayer and ready penance. No matter how urgent may be the needs of the active apostolate, such communities will always have a distinguished part to play in Christ's Mystical Body...” (Vatican II, Decree on the Renewal of Religious Life, 7).
“Members of those communities which are totally dedicated to contemplation give themselves to God alone in solitude and silence and through constant prayer and ready penance. No matter how urgent may be the needs of the active apostolate, such communities will always have a distinguished part to play in Christ's Mystical Body...” (Vatican II, Decree on the Renewal of Religious Life, 7).
LECTIO DIVINA:
LUKE 10,25-37
Lectio:
Monday, October 6, 2014
1)
OPENING PRAYER
Father,
your love for us
surpasses all our hopes and desires.
Forgive our failings,
keep us in your peace
and lead us in the way of salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
your love for us
surpasses all our hopes and desires.
Forgive our failings,
keep us in your peace
and lead us in the way of salvation.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2)
GOSPEL READING - LUKE 10,25-37
A lawyer stood up and, to test Jesus, asked, 'Master, what must
I do to inherit eternal life?' He said to him, 'What is written in the Law?
What is your reading of it?' 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.' Jesus said to him, 'You have answered
right, do this and life is yours.' But the man was anxious to justify himself
and said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbour?' In answer Jesus said, 'A man was
once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of
bandits; they stripped him, 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 on him was moved with
compassion when he saw him. He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring
oil and wine on them. He then lifted him onto his own mount and took him to an
inn and looked after him.
Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the
innkeeper and said, "Look after him, 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 bandits' hands?'
He replied, 'The one who showed pity towards him.' Jesus said to
him, 'Go, and do the same yourself.'
3)
REFLECTION
● The Gospel today presents the parable of the Good Samaritan.
To mediate on a parable is the same thing as to deepen into our life to
discover in it the call of God. In describing the long journey of Jesus to
Jerusalem (Lk 9, 51 to 19, 28), Luke helps the communities to understand better
in what the Good News of the Kingdom consists. He does it by presenting persons
who come to speak with Jesus and ask him questions. These are real questions of
the people of the time of Jesus and they are also real questions of the
communities of the time of Luke. Thus, today in the Gospel, a doctor of the law
asks: "What should I do to inherit eternal life?" The
response, both of the doctor and that of Jesus, helps to understand better the
objective of the Law of God.
● Luke 10, 25-26: "What should I do to inherit
eternal life?" A Doctor, who knew the law wants to test Jesus and
asks him: "What should I do to inherit eternal life?" The
doctor thinks that he has to do something in order to be able to inherit. He
wants to obtain the inheritance through his own personal effort. But an
inheritance is not merited. We receive an inheritance by the simple fact of
beingson or daughter. "Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son,
and if a son, then an heir by God's own act". (Ga 4, 7). As sons
and daughters we can do nothing to merit the inheritance. We can lose it!
● Luke 10, 27-28: The answer of the Doctor. Jesus
responds asking a new question: "What is written in the Law? The
doctor responds correctly. Uniting two phrases of the Law, he says: "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". This phrase comes from Deuteronomy (Dt 6, 5) and from
Leviticus (Lv 19,18). Jesus approves the response and says: "Do this
and life is yours!" What is important, the principal thing is to
love God! But God comes to me in my neighbour. The neighbour is the revelation
of God for me. And because of this, I have to love my neighbour also with all
my heart, with all my soul and with all my strength and with all my mind!
● Luke 10, 29: "And who is my
neighbour?" Wanting to justify himself, the doctor asks: "And
who is my neighbour?" He wants to know: "In which neighbour
God comes to me?" That is, which is the person close to me who is the
revelation of God for me? For the Jews the expression "neighbour"
was linked to the clan, it was not a neighbour. Anyone who did not belong to
the clan was not a neighbour. According to Deuteronomy, they could exploit the
"foreigner", but not the "neighbour" (Dt 15, 1-3). Proximity
was based on bonds of race and of blood. Jesus has a different way of seeing
which he expresses in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
● Luke 10, 30-36: The parable.
a) Luke 10, 30: The attack along the road of Jerusalem
toward Jericho. The Desert of Judah is between Jerusalem and Jericho,
which is the refuge of rebels, marginalized and attacked. Jesus tells a real
fact which had happened many times. "A man was on his way down from
Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of bandits; they stripped him,
beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead".
b) Luke 10, 31-32: A priest passed by travelling on the
same road, then a Levite passed by. By chance a priest passed by and,
immediately after a Levite. They are officials of the Temple of the official
religion. Both of them saw the man who had been attacked, but passed by, and
did nothing. Why did they do nothing? Jesus does not say it. He allows one to
guess with whom to identify oneself. This must have happened many times, in the
time of Jesus as well as in the time of Luke. This also happens today: a person
from the Church goes by close to a poor person without helping him. It could
also be that the priest and the Levite had a justification: "He is not my
neighbour!" or, "he is impure and if I touch him, I will also be
impure". And today: "If I help him, I will lose the Sunday Mass and
will commit a mortal sin!"
c) Luke 10, 33-35: A Samaritan passed by. Immediately
after a Samaritan who was travelling passed by. He saw the man and moved with
compassion, he got close, bandaged his wounds, lifted him onto his own mount
and took him to an inn and looked after him during the night and the following
day he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper, that was the
salary of ten days and he tells him: "Look after him and on my way
back I will make good any extra expenses you have!" This is the
concrete and effective action. It is the progressive action: to arrive, to see,
to be moved with compassion, to get close and to act. The parable says "A
Samaritan who was travelling". Jesus was also travelling up to
Jerusalem. Jesus is the Good Samaritan. The communities should be the Good
Samaritan.
● Luke 10, 36-37: Which of these three do you think
proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the bandits' hands?" At
the beginning the Doctor had asked: "Who is my
neighbour?" Behind the question was the concern for him. He
wanted to know: God orders me to love whom, in a way to be able to have my
conscience in peace and be able to say, I have done everything that God has
asked me to do". Jesus asks another question: "Which of these
three do you think proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the
hands of the bandits?" The condition of neighbour does not depend on
the race, on the fact that they are relatives, on sympathy, on closeness or on
religion. Humanity is not divided into neighbour and not neighbour. To know who
is our neighbour depends on us: to arrive, to see, to be moved with compassion
and to get close. If you get close, the other becomes your neighbour! It
depends on you and not on the other! Jesus overturns everything and takes away
from the Doctor the security which could come to him from the Law.
● The Samaritans. The word Samaritan comes from
Samaria, the capital of the Kingdom of Israel in the North. After the death of
Solomon, in the year 1931 before Christ, the ten tribes of the North separated
themselves from the kingdom of Judea in the South and formed an independent
kingdom (1 K 12, 1-33). The Kingdom of the North survived approximately for 200
years. In 722, its territory was invaded by Assyria. A large part of its
population was deported (2 K 17, 5-6) and people from other places went to
Samaria (2 K 17, 24). There was a mixture of races and of religions (2 K 17,
25-33), and the Samaritans were born from these. The Jews of the South despised
the Samaritans considering them unfaithful and adorers of false gods (2 K 17,
34-41). Many prejudices existed against the Samaritans. They were not well
accepted. It was said of them that they had an erroneous doctrine and did not
form part of the People of God. Some even went so far as to say that to be a
Samaritan was something of the Devil (Jn 8, 48). Most probable, the cause of
this hatred was not only a question of race and of religion, but it was also a
political-economic problem, linked to the possession of the land. This rivalry
lasted even in the time of Jesus. But Jesus places the Samaritans as a model
for others.
4)
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
● The Samaritan of the parable was not of the Jewish people, but
he did what Jesus asks. Does this happen today? Do you know people who do not
go to Church but live what the Gospel asks? Today, who are the priest, the
Levite and the Samaritan?
● The Doctor asks: "Who is my neighbour?" Jesus asks:
"Who was the neighbour of the man who was the victim of the bandits"?
There are two different points of view: the doctor asks starting from himself.
Jesus asks starting from the needs of the other. Which is my perspective or
point of view?
5)
CONCLUDING PRAYER
I give thanks to Yahweh with all my heart,
in the meeting-place of honest people, in the assembly.
Great are the deeds of Yahweh,
to be pondered by all who delight in them. (Ps 111,1-2)
in the meeting-place of honest people, in the assembly.
Great are the deeds of Yahweh,
to be pondered by all who delight in them. (Ps 111,1-2)
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