Dt 30:10-14; Col 1:15-20; Lk 10:25-37
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, in his autobiography Treasure in Clay, recounts a visit he made to a leper colony in Buluba, Africa. He intended to give a silver crucifix to each of the 500 lepers residing in Buluba. The first person who came forward, however, was a man so disfigured by the ravages of leprosy that Sheen was repulsed by the sight. The man's left arm was eaten off at the elbow by the disease; so he extended his right hand. This hand, too, was unspeakably corrupted by this awful disease. Unable to bear the leper's presence, Sheen held the crucifix above the man's palm and dropped it, where it was immediately swallowed up in the decaying flesh. Instantly, Sheen was aware of his unrighteous act. He had taken the crucifix “God’s sign of identification with humanity” and refused to associate himself with one of God's children. Overcome with remorse, Sheen dug his fingers into the man's leprosy and removed the crucifix. This time, he gently placed the crucifix in the man's hand. Sheen respectfully handed a crucifix to each of the remaining 499 lepers and, in the exchange, learned to love them with the love of the Good Samaritan.
Introduction: A scribe asked Jesus a very basic religious question: “What should I do to inherit eternal life?” In answer to the question, Jesus directed the Scribe’s attention to the Sacred Scriptures. The Scriptural answer is “love God and express it by loving your neighbor.” However, to the scribe, the word “neighbor” meant another scribe or Pharisee – never a Samaritan or a Gentile. Hence, the scribe insisted on a clarification of the word “neighbor.” So Jesus told him the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable clearly indicates that a “neighbor” is anyone who needs help. Thus, the correct approach is not to ask the question “Who is my neighbor?” but rather to ask, “Am I a good neighbor to others?” The first reading, taken from the Book of Deuteronomy, reminds us that God not only gives us His Commandments in Holy Scriptures, but that they are also written in our hearts so that we may obey them and inherit eternal life with God. In the second reading, St. Paul reminds the Colossians, and us, that just as Christ Jesus is the “visible image of the invisible God,” so our neighbors are the visible image of Christ living in our midst. Jesus, the Heavenly Good Samaritan, gave us a final commandment during the Last Supper, “Love one another as I have loved you,” because the invisible God dwells in every human being.
The first reading: Deuteronomy 30: 10-14: Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in the course of a discussion about the Law which occurred in the context of Jesus’ fateful journey toward Jerusalem and his coming death. Jesus dared to ask people to go beyond the Law of Moses, and that is one of the things that got him in so much trouble. To prepare us for that lesson, the Church selects from the Hebrew Scriptures a description of the Law that captures its greatness. Today’s passage, taken from the book of Deuteronomy, reminds us that God is not beyond human reach. Pagan religions of Moses’ time taught that God was accessible only through the mediation of specially selected persons who made that contact by acquiring secret knowledge and by performing bizarre rituals or by using hallucinogenic drugs. But God reveals to Moses that His Law is not across the sea or up in the sky or locked in a tabernacle. God has written his life-giving and salvific law in the human heart (v. 14; see also Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26-27). This Law is "not in heaven... nor is it beyond the seas," outside our reach. No, "it is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance." Hence, Moses urges the people of Israel to hear the voice of God from the Law and to keep His Commandments. He tells us that God is very near to us – in the neighbors we shall encounter each day this week. When we act as neighbor to them, we act as neighbor to God Himself.
The second reading: Colossians: 1: 15-20: The Christians of Colossae were misled by some false teachers, Gnostics, who saw Jesus as only a man, though just under the angels in rank. They taught that Jesus became Lord and Christ only at his Resurrection. Hence, Paul quotes this early Christian hymn to assure the Colossian Christians of: (1) the primacy of Christ over and above all angels and cosmic powers; (2) the value and necessity of the cross; and (3) the cosmic effects of salvation. This hymn also affirms Christ’s power and position over the four ranks of angels (v. 16: thrones, dominations, principalities and powers) which, according to Hellenistic Judaism, guarded the seven levels of Heaven. It asserts that Jesus is the full revelation of God, and that it is through the person and mission of Jesus that God has reconciled all things in Heaven and on earth to Himself, making peace between us and Him. It is this Jesus who lives in us and in our neighbors.
Exegesis: In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus presents three philosophies of life concerning our relationship with our neighbor:
1) The philosophy of the thieves who robbed the Jewish traveler – Lust: “What is yours is mine; I will take it by force.” This has been the philosophy of modern terrorist groups. In accepting this philosophy of life, the thieves, like their modern counterparts, terrorized others and exploited them, ignoring human rights and having selfish gain as their chief motive. In Jesus’ day, the steep, winding, country road from Jerusalem to Jericho was the safe haven for such bandit groups. No wonder, the Jewish traveler was robbed, stripped, beaten and left for dead on the Jericho Road! Some Bible scholars estimate there were at least 12,000 "thieves" in that Judean wilderness surrounding Jerusalem. These thugs roamed the countryside like packs of wild dogs, attacking innocent victims. In our world, many more thieves operate than we might realize. These are the privileged few, the "robber barons" of the modern world. They have to have all the marbles. The robber who takes money that does not belong to him is a thief. The rapist who takes sexual pleasure from someone not his spouse is a thief. The adulterer who steals another man's wife is a thief. Corporate executives and CEOs who bilk innocent stockholders of billions of dollars are thieves. God has given us things to use, and God has given us people to love. But when we begin to love things and use people, we become thieves. If our attitude is: "I just make sure I get mine. I don't care about anyone else," we are probably thieves.
2) The philosophy of life of the Jewish priest and the Levite – Legalism: “What is mine is mine; I won’t part with it.” The priests were powerful upper-class authorities governing the Temple cult. The Levites were the priests’ associates, who provided music, incense, sacred bread, Temple curtains and adornments. Their duties also included “kosher meatpacking” and banking. In the parable, the representative of these classes did not pay any attention to the wounded man. It is possible that a misplaced zeal for their religious duty gave them a couple of lame excuses: a)”If the man is dead and we touch him we will be unclean for seven days (Numbers 19:11), and disqualified from Temple service.” Thus, they saw the wounded man on the road, not as a person needing help, but a possible source of ritual impurity. b) “This may be a trap set for us, by hiding bandits.” [This excuse has some validity, as bandits sometimes did use a “wounded” member to decoy a prospective victim into stopping, thus setting himself up for robbery.] The parable's priest and Levite, however, represent people who are always demanding their rights, but never talking about their responsibilities. These two men exercised their legal right to pass this man by, and forgot God in the process. These people don't say, "I do what I want to do," but, "I will only do what I have to do-I won't stick my neck out for anybody." When one does only do what one must do in life, one is not a good neighbor.
3) The philosophy of the Samaritan -- Love: “What is mine is yours as well. I shall share it with you.” The Samaritan was generous enough to see the wounded Jew as a neighbor. He ignored the long history of enmity between his people and the Jews. [The Samaritans were a bastard race by Judean standards. They presumably originated from the Israelites who remained behind in their homeland when the Assyrians, following their conquest in 722 BC, deported the leading families of the region. In the years that followed, the Israelites who remained intermarried with the foreign settlers brought in by the Assyrians. The new hybrid ethnic generation -- "Jewish Assyrians"—continued to regard the Torah as their law but erected their own temple on Mount Gerizim, just outside Shechem (modern Nablus), at a time when there was no Temple in Jerusalem. John Hyracanus, a Maccabaean Jewish ruler, destroyed this Shechem temple during his reign (134-104 BC), and thus created lasting enmity between the Judeans and the Samaritans. Yet, Jesus makes the Samaritan the hero of the story.] The Good Samaritan was taking a real risk, since the robbers who had assaulted the traveler might still be nearby. Nevertheless, he gave first aid to the wounded Jew, took him to a nearby inn and made arrangements for his food and accommodation by giving the innkeeper two denarii. Two denarii was a lot of money—enough, in fact, to pay for more than three weeks’ board and lodging. The Samaritan also assured the innkeeper of further payment for any additional medical requirements of the wounded man. What made this Samaritan so special was not the color of his skin, but the compassion in his heart. No law could make the priest or the Levite stop, but love could make the Samaritan stop. Who would we have been that day -- the thief, the priest, the Levite, or the Good Samaritan?" If a person has a need that we can and should meet, that person is our neighbor. Every time we see a person in need, we immediately become a neighbor; we become a minister with a ministry. Columnist Ann Landers once wrote, "Be kind to people. The world needs kindness so much. You never know what sort of battles other people are fighting. Often just a soft word or a warm compliment can be immensely supportive. You can do a great deal of good by just being considerate, by extending a little friendship, going out of your way to do just one nice thing, or saying one good word." Mark Twain once wrote, "Kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can read."
Life messages: 1) We need to remember that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho passes right through our home, parish, school and work place. The Jericho Road is any place where people are being robbed of their dignity, their material goods or their value as human beings. It is any place where there is suffering and oppression. As a matter of fact, the Jericho Road may be our own home, the place where we are taking care of a mother or father, husband or wife, or even our own children. We may find our spouse, children or parents lying “wounded” by bitter words, scathing criticism or other, more blatant forms of verbal, emotional or physical abuse. Hence, Jesus invites us to have hearts of love. What God wants more than anything is for us to show our love to others, in our own home and school, in the workplace, and in the neighborhood, as the Good Samaritan did. Jesus is inviting us to have hearts of mercy for those who are being left hurt or mistreated on any of the “Jericho Roads” of life.
2) Are we good neighbors? A good neighbor does not say, "I do what I want to do," or even, "I do what I have to do," but, "I do what I ought to do." The lawyer’s question—“Who is my neighbor?”—reveals that he was really self-centered. The parable makes us realize that every human person is our neighbor. How have we been good neighbors this week? To whom did we behave in a neighborly way? The parable is a condemnation of our non-involvement as well as an invitation for us to be merciful and kind to those in need, including those in our family, school neighborhood and parish. We are invited to be people of generosity, kindness, and mercy toward all who are suffering. A sincere smile, a cheery greeting, an encouraging word of appreciation, a heartfelt “thank you” can work wonders for a suffering soul. Within every society, there is fear of those who are "different," who differ from us in religion, skin-color, dress or language. The parable invites us to make them neighbors. Why? Because "one’s neighbor is the living image of God the Father, redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and placed under the permanent action of the Holy Spirit. One’s neighbor must therefore be loved, even if he or she is an enemy, with the same love with which the Lord loves him or her.” (Pope St. John Paul II, Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 1987).
3) We need to allow the ‘Good Samaritans’ touch our lives. Do you recall the consternation and shock in so many areas years ago when PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shook hands for the whole world to see? People from both Arafat's and Rabin's cultures were shocked by it and condemned that handshake! Let us be willing to touch and be touched by persons we have once despised. For some of us, these may be persons of another color or race; for others, these may be persons of a different political persuasion. For still others these may be former enemies who have hurt them, abused them or offended them. Let us pray that the Spirit of the living God may melt us, mold us and use us so that there will no longer be even one person who is untouchable or outside the boundaries of compassion.
4) An invitation to be loving and merciful to our enemies. "Enemies" include both people we hate, and those who hate us. The Jews and the Samaritans during the time of Jesus hated each other. When Jesus told the story of a Samaritan helping a Jew, everyone was probably shocked. A Samaritan outcast helping a Jew? Impossible! “Good Samaritan” would have sounded like a bad joke—a contradiction in terms. The parable was an invitation for Jews to love Samaritans and Samaritans to love Jews. It is an invitation for people of all times to love their enemies -- to love those they have previously hated.
Do you remember that poignant and wonderful piece written by Martin Niemoeller? Niemoeller was a German Lutheran pastor who was arrested by the Gestapo and sent to a concentration camp in Dachau in 1938. Amazingly, he survived the prison camp experience and was set free by the Allied Troops in 1945. Out of that horrible experience, Niemoeller wrote these haunting words: “I Didn’t Speak Up....In Germany, the Nazis… came… for the Jews and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me… and by that time there was no one left to speak for me.” The point is clear....We can’t bail out or run away. We can’t detach ourselves and stand to the side. We can’t ignore the troubles of the world. We can’t just wait around expecting someone else to roll up his sleeves and correct the situation for us. If we are to live in the Spirit of Christ, we have to face the problems and deal with them redemptively.
(Source: Homilies of Fr. Anthony Kadavil)
