Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 461
Lectionary: 461
This is the word of
the LORD that came to Jonah, son of Amittai:
“Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it;
their wickedness has come up before me.”
But Jonah made ready to flee to Tarshish away from the LORD.
He went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish,
paid the fare, and went aboard to journey with them to Tarshish,
away from the LORD.
The LORD, however, hurled a violent wind upon the sea,
and in the furious tempest that arose
the ship was on the point of breaking up.
Then the mariners became frightened and each one cried to his god.
To lighten the ship for themselves, they threw its cargo into the sea.
Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship,
and lay there fast asleep.
The captain came to him and said, “What are you doing asleep?
Rise up, call upon your God!
Perhaps God will be mindful of us so that we may not perish.”
Then they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots
to find out on whose account we have met with this misfortune.”
So they cast lots, and thus singled out Jonah.
“Tell us,” they said, “what is your business?
Where do you come from?
What is your country, and to what people do you belong?”
Jonah answered them, “I am a Hebrew,
I worship the LORD, the God of heaven,
who made the sea and the dry land.”
Now the men were seized with great fear and said to him,
“How could you do such a thing!–
They knew that he was fleeing from the LORD,
because he had told them.–
They asked, “What shall we do with you,
that the sea may quiet down for us?”
For the sea was growing more and more turbulent.
Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,
that it may quiet down for you;
since I know it is because of me
that this violent storm has come upon you.”
Still the men rowed hard to regain the land, but they could not,
for the sea grew ever more turbulent.
Then they cried to the LORD: “We beseech you, O LORD,
let us not perish for taking this man’s life;
do not charge us with shedding innocent blood,
for you, LORD, have done as you saw fit.”
Then they took Jonah and threw him into the sea,
and the sea’s raging abated.
Struck with great fear of the LORD,
the men offered sacrifice and made vows to him.
But the LORD sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah;
and Jonah remained in the belly of the fish
three days and three nights.
From the belly of the fish Jonah prayed
to the LORD, his God.
Then the LORD commanded the fish to spew Jonah upon the shore.
“Set out for the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it;
their wickedness has come up before me.”
But Jonah made ready to flee to Tarshish away from the LORD.
He went down to Joppa, found a ship going to Tarshish,
paid the fare, and went aboard to journey with them to Tarshish,
away from the LORD.
The LORD, however, hurled a violent wind upon the sea,
and in the furious tempest that arose
the ship was on the point of breaking up.
Then the mariners became frightened and each one cried to his god.
To lighten the ship for themselves, they threw its cargo into the sea.
Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship,
and lay there fast asleep.
The captain came to him and said, “What are you doing asleep?
Rise up, call upon your God!
Perhaps God will be mindful of us so that we may not perish.”
Then they said to one another, “Come, let us cast lots
to find out on whose account we have met with this misfortune.”
So they cast lots, and thus singled out Jonah.
“Tell us,” they said, “what is your business?
Where do you come from?
What is your country, and to what people do you belong?”
Jonah answered them, “I am a Hebrew,
I worship the LORD, the God of heaven,
who made the sea and the dry land.”
Now the men were seized with great fear and said to him,
“How could you do such a thing!–
They knew that he was fleeing from the LORD,
because he had told them.–
They asked, “What shall we do with you,
that the sea may quiet down for us?”
For the sea was growing more and more turbulent.
Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,
that it may quiet down for you;
since I know it is because of me
that this violent storm has come upon you.”
Still the men rowed hard to regain the land, but they could not,
for the sea grew ever more turbulent.
Then they cried to the LORD: “We beseech you, O LORD,
let us not perish for taking this man’s life;
do not charge us with shedding innocent blood,
for you, LORD, have done as you saw fit.”
Then they took Jonah and threw him into the sea,
and the sea’s raging abated.
Struck with great fear of the LORD,
the men offered sacrifice and made vows to him.
But the LORD sent a large fish, that swallowed Jonah;
and Jonah remained in the belly of the fish
three days and three nights.
From the belly of the fish Jonah prayed
to the LORD, his God.
Then the LORD commanded the fish to spew Jonah upon the shore.
Responsorial PsalmJONAH 2:3, 4, 5, 8
R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.
Out of my distress I called to the LORD,
and he answered me;
From the midst of the nether world I cried for help,
and you heard my voice.
R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.
For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the sea,
and the flood enveloped me;
All your breakers and your billows
passed over me.
R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.
Then I said, “I am banished from your sight!
yet would I again look upon your holy temple.”
R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.
When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the LORD;
My prayer reached you
in your holy temple.
R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.
Out of my distress I called to the LORD,
and he answered me;
From the midst of the nether world I cried for help,
and you heard my voice.
R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.
For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the sea,
and the flood enveloped me;
All your breakers and your billows
passed over me.
R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.
Then I said, “I am banished from your sight!
yet would I again look upon your holy temple.”
R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.
When my soul fainted within me,
I remembered the LORD;
My prayer reached you
in your holy temple.
R. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.
AlleluiaJN 13:34
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 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.”
“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.
God's love and mercy extends to all
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.
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.
Our prejudice gets in the way of mercy
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.
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.
God expects us to be merciful as he is merciful
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.
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.
The cross shows us God's perfect love and forgiveness
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?
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."
MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, LUKE
10:25-37
(Jonah 1:1―2:1, 11, Psalm: Jonah 2)
(Jonah 1:1―2:1, 11, Psalm: Jonah 2)
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).
TO KNOW: 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.
TO LOVE: Do I have compassion toward people who do not meet my standards?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to see you in the suffering people I meet each day.
Monday 5 October 2015
MON 5TH.
Jonah 1:1 – 2:1, 11. You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord—Jonah 2:3-5,
8. Luke 10:25-37.
'Go then
and do likewise.'
How many
times have we read or heard the story of The Good Samaritan? It is one of the
most famous stories is the bible. We all know the answer to Jesus’ question,
‘Which of these three proved to be the neighbour?’ but how much harder is it to
act in this way.
When we
see someone who is distressed, hurt or just a bit different from us, do we stop
and ask if they are alright, or do we walk on by, pretending that we are
unaware of them? I recently saw a woman sitting and talking with a young woman
who had been begging on Princes Bridge in Melbourne. She was a modern day Good
Samaritan and I was moved by her, yet ashamed of myself for walking past and
ignoring the young woman.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
|
All in the Family
|
Since Christians are brought into God’s family through Christ, and
since we share in God’s life-giving grace, we are united in a unique and
powerful way. This allows us to love and care for one another, as we are commanded
to do.
October
5
St. Maria Faustina Kowalska
(1905-1938)
St. Maria Faustina Kowalska
(1905-1938)
St. Faustina's name is forever linked to the annual feast of
the Divine Mercy (celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter), the divine mercy
chaplet and the divine mercy prayer recited each day at 3 p.m. by many people.
Born in
what is now west-central Poland (part of Germany before World War I), Helena
Kowalska was the third of 10 children. She worked as a housekeeper in three
cities before joining the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in
1925. She worked as a cook, gardener and porter in three of their houses.
In
addition to carrying out her work faithfully, generously serving the needs of
the sisters and the local people, she also had a deep interior life. This
included receiving revelations from the Lord Jesus, messages that she recorded
in her diary at the request of Christ and of her confessors.
At a time
when some Catholics had an image of God as such a strict judge that they might
be tempted to despair about the possibility of being forgiven, Jesus chose to
emphasize his mercy and forgiveness for sins acknowledged and confessed. “I do
not want to punish aching mankind,” he once told St. Faustina, “but I
desire to heal it, pressing it to my merciful heart” (Diary 1588).
The two rays emanating from Christ's heart, she said, represent the blood and
water poured out after Jesus' death (John 19:34)
Because
Sister Maria Faustina knew that the revelations she had already received did
not constitute holiness itself, she wrote in her diary: “Neither graces, nor
revelations, nor raptures, nor gifts granted to a soul make it perfect, but
rather the intimate union of the soul with God. These gifts are merely
ornaments of the soul, but constitute neither its essence nor its perfection.
My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my will with the will
of God” (Diary 1107).
Sister
Maria Faustina died of tuberculosis in Krakow, Poland, on October 5, 1938. Pope
John Paul II beatified her in 1993 and canonized her seven years later.
Comment:
Devotion to God's Divine Mercy bears some resemblance to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In both cases, sinners are encouraged not to despair, not to doubt God's willingness to forgive them if they repent. As Psalm 136 says in each of its 26 verses, “God's love [mercy] endures forever.”
Devotion to God's Divine Mercy bears some resemblance to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In both cases, sinners are encouraged not to despair, not to doubt God's willingness to forgive them if they repent. As Psalm 136 says in each of its 26 verses, “God's love [mercy] endures forever.”
Quote:
Four years after Faustina's beatification, John Paul II visited the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy at Lagiewniki (near Krakow) and addressed members of her congregation. He said: “The message of divine mercy has always been very close and precious to me. It is as though history has written it in the tragic experience of World War II. In those difficult years, this message was a particular support and an inexhaustible source of hope, not only for those living in Krakow, but for the entire nation. This was also my personal experience, which I carried with me to the See of Peter and which, in a certain sense, forms the image of this pontificate. I thank divine providence because I was able to contribute personally to carrying out Christ's will, by instituting the feast of Divine Mercy. Here, close to the remains of Blessed Faustina, I thank God for the gift of her beatification. I pray unceasingly that God may have 'mercy on us and on the whole world' "(Quote from the Chaplet of Divine Mercy).
Four years after Faustina's beatification, John Paul II visited the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy at Lagiewniki (near Krakow) and addressed members of her congregation. He said: “The message of divine mercy has always been very close and precious to me. It is as though history has written it in the tragic experience of World War II. In those difficult years, this message was a particular support and an inexhaustible source of hope, not only for those living in Krakow, but for the entire nation. This was also my personal experience, which I carried with me to the See of Peter and which, in a certain sense, forms the image of this pontificate. I thank divine providence because I was able to contribute personally to carrying out Christ's will, by instituting the feast of Divine Mercy. Here, close to the remains of Blessed Faustina, I thank God for the gift of her beatification. I pray unceasingly that God may have 'mercy on us and on the whole world' "(Quote from the Chaplet of Divine Mercy).
LECTIO DIVINA:
LUKE 10,25-37
Lectio:
Monday, October 5, 2015
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)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét