Readings & Reflections with Cardinal Tagle’s Video: Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time C & St. Kateri Tekakwitha, July 14,2019

In today’s Gospel (Lk 10:25-37), Jesus challenges us today with these two questions: Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? Who is my neighbor? In the parable of the Good Samaritan, a priest and the scholar of the law ignored the need of a fallen traveler who had been left to die on the Jericho road. However, a Samaritan gave his time and resources to help the afflicted man. He bandaged his wounds, brought him to an inn, “and took care of him” (Lk 10:34). The Church Fathers put a meaning on this parable. They saw in the person we call the Good Samaritan an image of Jesus himself. The human race was waylaid by sin. Sin had stripped us of our human dignity. It had robbed from us the grace of God. It had attacked us so severely that we are all like a person who is half dead. Jesus lifted us up on his own shoulders and brought us to the Church that we be cared for until he returns in glory on the day of our resurrection. After Jesus brought us to the Church, he did not leave us but He is with his Church all the days even until the end of the world (Mt 28:20). Through the ministry of the Church in baptism Jesus heals the wounds of our sins, restores the life of grace and gives us the dignity of the children of God. In confirmation Jesus strengthens the life of grace within us and confirms our identity as children of God and heirs of heaven. Jesus comes to us in the Church through word and sacrament: the word of Sacred Scripture and the sacrament of his body and blood are our spiritual nourishment (Mt. 26:26-29; Jn 6:54-56). For more reflection watch the video of Pope Francis: To ignore the suffering of man is to ignore God click this link: http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2016/04/27/pope-francis-to-ignore-the-suffering-of-man-is-to-ignore-god/

AMDG+

Opening Prayer

“Dearest Lord, may I see you today and every day in the person of your sick, and whilst nursing minister to you. Though you hide yourself behind the unattractive disguise of the irritable, the exacting, the unreasonable, may I still recognize you and say: ‘Jesus, my patient, how sweet it is to serve you.’ Lord, give me this seeing faith, then my work will never be monotonous. I will ever find joy in humoring the fancies and gratifying the wishes of all poor sufferers. O beloved sick, how doubly dear you are to me, when you personify Christ; and what a privilege is mine to be allowed to tend you. Sweetest Lord, make me appreciative of the dignity of my high vocation, and its many responsibilities. Never permit me to disgrace it by giving way to coldness, unkindness, or impatience. And, O God, while you are Jesus, my patient, deign also to be to me a patient Jesus, bearing with my faults, looking only to my intention, which is to love and serve you in the person of each of your sick. Lord, increase my faith, bless my efforts and work, now and for evermore. Amen. (Daily prayer of Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

Reading 1
Dt 30:10-14 – The word is very near to you: you have only to carry out.

Moses said to the people:
“If only you would heed the voice of the LORD, your God,
and keep his commandments and statutes
that are written in this book of the law,
when you return to the LORD, your God,
with all your heart and all your soul.

“For this command that I enjoin on you today
is not too mysterious and remote for you.
It is not up in the sky, that you should say,
‘Who will go up in the sky to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’
Nor is it across the sea, that you should say,
‘Who will cross the sea to get it for us
and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?’
No, it is something very near to you,
already in your mouths and in your hearts;
you have only to carry it out.”

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37
R. (cf. 33) Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.

I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness:
in your great mercy turn toward me.
R. Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.

I am afflicted and in pain;
let your saving help, O God, protect me.
I will praise the name of God in song,
and I will glorify him with thanksgiving.
R. Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.

“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.”
R. Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.

For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
The descendants of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall inhabit it.
R. Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.

or

Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11
R. (9a) Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
the decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life.

Reading II
Col 1:15-20 – All things were created through him and for him.

Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.

The word of the Lord.

Gospel
Lk 10:25-37 – Who is my neighbor?

Bishop Robert Barron’s Homily: Hearing the voice of God click below:

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him 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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

 

Reflection 1 – What we must do?

Dr. Scott Hahn’s reflection: Listen Here

We are to love God and our neighbor with all the strength of our being, as the scholar of the Law answers Jesus in this week’s Gospel.

This command is nothing remote or mysterious—it’s already written in our hearts, in the book of sacred Scripture. “You have only to carry it out,” Moses says in this week’s First Reading.

Jesus tells His interrogator the same thing: “Do this and you will live.”

The scholar, however, wants to know where he can draw the line. That’s the motive behind his question: “Who is my neighbor?”

In his compassion, the Samaritan in Jesus’ parable reveals the boundless mercy of God – who came down to us when we were fallen in sin, close to dead, unable to pick ourselves up.

Jesus is “the image of the invisible God,” this week’s Epistle tells us. In Him, the love of God has come very near to us. By the “blood of His Cross” – by bearing His neighbors’ sufferings in His own body, being himself stripped and beaten and left for dead—He saved us from bonds of sin, reconciled us to God and to one another.

Like the Samaritan, He pays the price for us, heals the wounds of sin, pours out on us the oil and wine of the sacraments, entrusts us to the care of His Church, until He comes back for us.

Because His love has known no limits, ours cannot either. We are to love as we have been loved, to do for others what He has done for us – joining all things together in His Body, the Church.

We are to love like the singer of this week’s Psalm—like those whose prayers have been answered, like those whose lives has been saved, who have known the time of His favor, have seen God in His great mercy turn toward us.

This is the love that leads to eternal life, the love Jesus commands today of the scholar, and of each of us—”Go and do likewise.” – Read the source: https://stpaulcenter.com/reflections/what-we-must-do-scott-hahn-reflects-on-the-15th-sunday-in-ordinary-time

Reflection 2 – God’s command to love one’s neighbor

Today Jesus focuses on God’s command to LOVE one’s neighbor. He highlights that every believer should have- an unlimited commitment to help meet the needs of every man, a parent, a child, a sibling, an acquaintance or even one who has been considered an enemy and has grossly violated one’s trust.

Compassion is something our Lord wants to be deeply imbedded in our hearts as we relate with one another. Compassion is necessary to follow Christ and live according to His teachings.

Does this mean that God expects us to stop every time we see someone on the side of the road and help them fix a flat? Or give money and food to every homeless man we encounter in the streets of Manhattan?

May be not. But it certainly means that the “let someone else handle it ” or “I have given enough to the poor” attitude must be removed from our minds and hearts.

Through the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus somehow defined “who is my neighbor.” But in my heart the best and true story that defines “who is my neighbor” is God’s redemptive act of love for mankind when He sent Jesus to save us from total destruction. Talk about stopping at the side of the road to help a distressed driver, feeding the poor and hungry or caring for the sick, they all pale to what the Father did for us. All these fall short of the love and compassion Jesus had in his heart for all men as He accepted death on the Cross so that we will be healed, saved and be made acceptable in God’s kingdom.

Just imagine our plight if Jesus was not willing to take that extra step and in love reach down and lift us from the spiritual death which was upon all of us! If Jesus did not have compassion and kindness deeply imbedded in His heart we will still be gasping for air and in the middle of nowhere, flopping on the sand like a beached fish. Jesus was the only one who could do the perfect job for the Father and He did it with His whole heart, mind and soul.

In God’s divine plan He chose all of us to teach, to guide, to counsel, to aid, to help, to heal his flock but how have we received this commission? How often have we turned around and considered that such an act or ministry is not ours or such work is not within our own set of inclinations, preferred work and even God’s gifts to us?

Remember the words of Christ “whatsoever you do to the least of these, my brothers, you have done unto me.” To ignore God’s people especially those in need of compassion and love is to ignore Christ.

With today’s gospel Jesus exhorts all of us to embrace our neighbor just as He has embraced us. He does not want us to ignore those who are heavily burdened emotionally, financially and spiritually and assume that someone else will take care of them. Rather His desire is for us to be kind, merciful and full of compassion at all times.

Remember God constantly bends down and helps us whenever we are in need. As disciples of Jesus we should be able to imitate and follow His example. As His disciples we should keep our eyes and hearts open to the suffering and downtrodden, be focused on love rather than the spirit of the law and righteousness.

Direction

Do this and you shall live. Live a life or love. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

Prayer

Heavenly Father pour grace upon me so that I may be your living witness of mercy and kindness, love and compassion. In Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Reflection 3 – Vision-Mission of Jesus

Three friends went mountain climbing one winter. While they were up on the mountain, a severe storm broke out. The three friends were in a hurry to go down the slippery slopes. Unfortunately, one of them slipped and broke his leg. He could not walk. One friend, knowing that taking care of the injured would slow down their travel in the icy storm, suggested that they just leave him behind and move fast. But the second one could not even think of abandoning their injured friend. So, while the first friend hastily took off alone, the other friend lagged behind as he patiently carried his friend on his back. The next day, the two friends saw the lifeless body of their companion lying on the ground. He froze to death. The two moved very slowly but their bodies provided heat for each other and that saved them from the deadly cold weather.

This story illustrates that selfishness can be deadly. On the other hand, helping others could mean more burden and trouble on our part, but in reality, it could as well be our saving grace. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, the priest and the Levite avoided the wounded man on the road. It is not that they did not care about the victim. They had their reasons. They did not want to be rendered defiled or ritually unclean just in case the victim was already dead. They also were in a hurry because of the imminent danger in the area. They did not want to get into any trouble or to disrupt their busy schedule. In other words, their priority was not the welfare of the other person, but their own safety, their job, and their comfort.

On the other hand, the Samaritan did not care about his own welfare. He approached the victim, brought him to an inn and cared for him, promising that he will return to make sure everything was paid for. He went out of his way to help the man. He did not mind that his journey was delayed or that he incurred unexpected expenses for somebody he did not even know. For him, the other person was as important as himself.

Jesus told the Parable of the Good Samaritan, not to embarrass the Jews who hated Samaritans, but to describe his own mission. In modern corporate parlance, this parable is the “Vision-Mission Statement” of Jesus. Some early Christian writers, like Origen, and the Church Fathers, notably St. Augustine, interpreted the parable in this way:

The traveler represents humanity. We are on constant journey in this world. However, the journey is not towards Jerusalem, the holy city, but towards Jericho, representing the enticements of the world. The robbers are the forces of evil in the world that lead us to sin. The wounds are the marks of our sins. When we are in sin, we are left for dead, stripped of all power and dignity. The priest and the Levite represent the Old Covenant. The priest is the Law; the Levite is the Prophets. They would not do anything to save us. Fortunately, the Son of God, Jesus, through his Incarnation, comes into our troubled world. He is the Good Samaritan. Though rejected by his own people, he is the one who rescues sinful humanity. He heals our wounds; he hoists us on the beast, the image of his own body; and brings us to an inn, the Church, his Mystical Body. The manager of the inn is the visible head of the Church to whom its care has been entrusted. He gives the innkeeper two coins, representing the two great commandments: love of God and love of neighbor. Then he promises to return, indicating that the Savior will come again, his Second Coming.

This is the Vision-Mission of Jesus. In a world full of selfishness, hopelessly fragmented, and painfully agonizing in violence and misery, Jesus envisions a world where people fully obey the will of the Father, transforming it into the Kingdom of God – a kingdom of peace, justice and love. The only way to achieve this vision is love of neighbor – by reaching out to others, getting out of our comfort zones, and being ready to be disturbed by the needs of others. Jesus shows us his own example as the Good Samaritan, the perfect image of true compassion and unconditional love. As followers of Jesus, we are invited to share in his mission: “Go, and do likewise.”

The world is severely afflicted with the sickness called selfishness. It is this sickness that makes people callous, indifferent and insensitive to the plight of their neighbors. Have you ever wondered why tyrants and dictators use the symbol of a clenched fist? A closed hand cannot and does not want to give. It wants everything for itself. But since it is closed, it also cannot receive. We may not admit it, but this is true to so many of us nowadays. We assume the closed fist attitude. We imprison ourselves in our own little worlds, and we do not want anyone to disturb our peace and comfort. We do not want to give, so we close our hands. But in effect, we also cannot receive. In a society of closed hands, life is meaningless – everything comes to a standstill. Nothing comes and nothing goes. This is what makes life ugly and miserable.

That is why sometimes something terrible happens in our world – terrorism, wars, natural calamities, accidents, economic collapse – not because God punishes us, but because we need something to shake us up from our stupor in complacency and self-sufficiency. We need to realize that we cannot remain unaffected by others. No one can be totally independent and self-sufficient. No man is an island. God created us as complementary and interdependent beings. We need each other. It is only in reaching out to others and in being one with them in their times of need that we discover the beautiful meaning of life. It is then that we begin to live life to the full as God wants for all of us.

When are we going to join Jesus in realizing His vision for the world? When do we begin to take part in His mission? Enough of our selfishness and closed-hand policy! It is time to open our hands and reach out to one another. After all, the hand is more beautiful when it is open. Let the words of Jesus continuously ring in our minds and hearts: “Go, and do likewise.” (Source: Fr. Mike Lagrimas, St. Michael the Archangel Parish, Amsterdam St., Capitol Park Homes, Old Balara, Quezon City)

Reflection 4 – Charity above all

In today’s Gospel (Lk 10:25-37) about the Good Samaritan, Jesus issues one of his most striking parables in response to a question that a lawyer posed as a way to test him. Our Lord had just given witness to the pair of commandments that sum up the whole of the Law: “You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” We have heard these words so often that they might seem clear beyond any possible doubt. But the lawyer finds a way to ask a lawyerly question: “And who is my neighbor?”

The response that he gets makes the demanding nature of Jesus’ teaching clear: charity is not just a matter of being nice to those to whom it is nice to be nice. The virtue of charity that is required of us is a virtue of self-forgetfulness and dedication to others that is not reserved for our relatives or friends or co-workers. It is not something we may do when we find it convenient. It is not a mere ideal whose vagueness give us an excuse for explaining away our failures to act. The Lord makes the commandment of love for our neighbor second only to the commandment of love for God, and the unforgettable story he creates about the Good Samaritan gives us reason to examine our consciences carefully when we notice someone truly in need and yet are inclined to excuse ourselves from intervening.

Curiously, the setting of the story on a lonely road from Jerusalem to Jericho could make us less sensitive to its applicability to modern society (as the incredible network of emergency responders that we are fortunate to have monitoring our highways and public areas could very well let us presume that someone else will take care of accidents and injuries). This parable, after all, is designed to elucidate the meaning of brotherhood, and the moral that Jesus draws by the story’s end is that we are to show mercy like the Samaritan did when he encountered someone in desperate need. The circumstances in which we are likely to encounter such a person might vary considerably.

Imagine, for instance, someone who is less than popular at work and who is being denied due process when powerful people are intent on terminating his job. It would be wonderful if we had enough savior faire to get the person a fair hearing without offending anyone. But more often than not, standing up to the powerful, or to peer pressure, will entail some risk to our own standing. The definition of a wimp is someone who wants to be liked at all costs, and the temptation to wimp out in the defense of the weak, so as not to be disliked ourselves, can be enormous. But the parable that Christ tells here challenges that inclination. Love your neighbor as yourself, and our neighbor is the one in need.

How are we to develop a virtue like this? In the natural order, the best recipe for growing in the virtues is practice, practice, practice. We can develop moderation and temperance, for instance, by repeatedly making choices to limit our consumption of certain pleasures like alcohol or cigarettes. It may well be hard in the beginning, and we may need lots of support from others to sustain our quest for that virtue against the tendency to give in to our desires. Likewise, if we are given to white lies and want to grow in truthfulness, we can make some progress by first holding ourselves back from speaking too quickly, and perhaps we can even deny ourselves the opportunity to speak at all on a given topic if we notice any readiness to bend the truth. The asceticism involved in thinking before we speak can thus promote a firmer truthfulness while simultaneously making us more judicious when we do speak.

But even more important for the cultivation of the virtue of love that is at the center of today’s Gospel is the need to keep our eyes fixed on Christ. We might remember, for example, his own way of practicing what he preached. When confronted by certain scribes and Pharisees who were ready to use the stoning of a woman caught in adultery as a way to trap him, Jesus takes the risk of resisting their pressure. In fact, he shows us how to play for time by drawing in the sand for a moment before he answers (Jn 8:6). The counter-challenge that he creates (“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her”) involves no denial of her guilt. In fact, before that story ends, he will tell her to go and sin no more. But what is especially pertinent for our present purposes is the way in which he forces his opponents to examine their own consciences and then to withdraw.

The self-forgetfulness and dedication to others of the love that is central to his commandment about loving one’s neighbor as oneself is not just about the victims of robbery and traffic accidents. Rare as this virtue may be in modern society, we are called to it by Christ. (Source: Fr. Joseph Koterski, SJ, “Homilies for Sunday Liturgies and Feasts,” Homiletic & Pastoral Review, Vol. CX, No. 9. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, June/July 2010, pp. 35-37; Suggested Readings from the Catechism: 1822-1829).

Reflection 5 – Just Do It
Several years ago I had a friend who really struggled with prayer. He wanted to know the various aspects of prayer, the differences between contemplative and intercessory prayer, the various types of written prayers, to go along with an extemporary manner of praying that he had heard growing up. Eventually, his frustration with prayer led him to a wise spiritual elder that he hoped could help him. He described his trips to various parts of the world to observe different faith traditions at prayer. He had gone to charismatic prayer meetings, monasteries where they prayed the Liturgy of the Hours, ashrams where he observed meditation, churches that had lengthy prayer gatherings, and just about every other potential situation where he could observe people at prayer. I’ve read at least three dozen books on prayer, he exclaimed. I am so frustrated. What do I need to do, he asked? The advice of the old man? Start praying!

I love this first reading. Moses has led the people for forty years, and he is about to die. These words are some of his last to the people. Moses had learned a lot about human nature, and how the Evil One can mess with our hearts. You shall not steal. “Oh, that teaching is too mysterious for me.” What part of “stop taking other people’s stuff” do you not understand? “Oh, that teaching is too advanced for me. I don’t get it.” So, “you don’t have sex outside of marriage” is that too advanced a thought for you?

Admittedly, I am over-simplifying things. There are difficult teachings. There are hard sayings of Jesus. Not everything is as simple as “do this” and “don’t do that.” However, Moses gets to the crux of many of the moral issues we face today. It is not that we do not know what to do— “you have only to carry it out.” The truth is that we have not been converted. I want to do what I want to do. I have not returned to the Lord with all my heart and all my soul.

Back before the Supreme Court came out with its same-sex marriage ruling, I was in a discussion with a group of people who wanted to accept and practice same-sex marriage, but also wanted to follow Christ. As we discussed the Scriptures, I set forth what those scriptures relating to homosexuality and marriage had historically meant to Jews and Christians. Various individuals struggled to overcome the plain meaning of those passages. Finally, one person said, “I really don’t care what the Scriptures say on this subject. Heck, I don’t care what God thinks about it. I know what I want.” Praise God, an honest person. Those Christian teachings aren’t mysterious, he said; I just reject them. This is the heart of the matter. Until I return to the Lord with my heart and soul, it won’t matter what I understand God to be saying.

In our parish, I lead our R.C.I.A. efforts, and prepare people to come into the Catholic Church. With few exceptions, the people I meet who are drawn to the Church truly want to be Catholics in-fact, and not in-name only. It is beautiful to see them learn what the Church teaches, and then ask questions as to how to put the teaching into practice. Some things are simple, as Moses said, they have only to carry it out. Other things are more difficult, for example, what all is included in remembering the Sabbath day in order to keep it holy? Yet, they desire to do God’s will. Their hearts and souls are being reformed. They don’t struggle nearly like the person who isn’t sure that he wants to follow the Church’s teachings. I recently had a colleague where I work ask me what I thought about the statement that a person makes when he or she are received into the Catholic Church, namely, “I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church believes, teaches, and proclaims to be revealed by God.” He asked me this as a cradle Catholic who regularly dissents from Church teaching, and cannot imagine anyone being able to make this profession. I responded that the folks in R.C.I.A. realize that they do not understand everything, but that they trust the Lord and the Catholic Church. As St. Augustine said, they are people of faith seeking understanding.

Has my heart and soul been reformed? Am I in love with God? Do I trust him? When I do, a lot of what I am called to do is simple and easy—I have only to carry it out. The rest may be mysterious and beyond my comprehension, but, in humility, I trust the Church and follow her guidance. For further reading, see Catechism of the Catholic Church, section 158. – Read the source: http://www.hprweb.com/2016/06/homilies-for-july-2016/

Reflection 6 –  Jesus, our compassionate savior

Last Sunday we heard about the mission of the seventy-two who were sent out by the Lord to proclaim the kingdom of God. This week, it is the scholar of the law who comes to Jesus and asks about eternal life.

Most of us are so familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan that we can easily hear it without really listening to it. It’s easy to do that sometimes with passages of scripture we know so well. The story is simple. A man who is going from Jerusalem to Jericho is robbed, beaten, and nearly killed. It was a dangerous road. A priest and a Levite walk past the injured man, and a Samaritan stops to care for him. The Samaritan treats the wounds of the injured man with wine, oil, and bandages. The Samaritan takes him to an inn, pays for his care, and promises to pay for any additional needs when he returns. The Samaritan demonstrates what is means to be a neighbor.

We want to be good neighbors. The law of God invites us to love God and love our neighbor. That is not a mysterious commandment. It is not something hidden from our view. This commandment is near to us, in our mouths and in our hearts. We know it and we can follow it.

The difference between the Samaritan and the priest and the Levite was more than just their actions. We do not know why the priest and the Levite did not stop to help the injured man. We do know why the Samaritan stopped to help the injured man: he was moved with compassion. From the compassion that he felt for this unknown injured man on the side of the road, the Samaritan carried out the love of neighbor.

We want to be compassionate neighbors. The word compassion means to suffer with. To be compassionate means that we are willing to suffer with those who are suffering. The Samaritan was willing to suffer and willing to sacrifice for the injured man. His act of charity cost him. It cost him wine, oil, and bandages made of cloth. It cost him comfort on the journey because he gave the injured man his own place on the animal he was riding. It cost him the two silver coins that he gave to the innkeeper, and whatever he would pay on his return. And it cost him the most precious gift that we can give to another: it cost him time. The Samaritan was willing to suffer with the suffering. That is what it means to be a neighbor.

And that is part of what it means to be a follower of the Lord Jesus. We suffer with the suffering. In union with Christ who suffered for us, we suffer with the poor, the injured, the sick, the rejected, and the dying. We suffer with those who have been cast to the side of the road in our society: the unborn, the immigrant, the elderly, the mentally ill, and the disabled. Each of us was marked with the sign of Christ’s glorious sufferings in our baptism. Every vocation is marked with the blessing of Christ’s holy cross. Mothers suffer with and for their children. Fathers suffering with and for their families. Teachers suffer with and for their students. Husbands suffer for their wives, and wives suffer for their husbands. Priests suffer with and for their people, and the holy people of God suffer with and for their priests. We are the neighbors, and we are the people Christ calls us to be when we are willing to suffer with those who suffer.

But we were not the first to suffer. We suffer in union with Christ on the cross. For in truth, we are not the Good Samaritan in the parable. We are the injured man. And Christ our Savior traveling to the road to the heavenly city of Jerusalem looked was moved with compassion for each of us. Jesus approached us while we were still sinners. He bathed us in the wine of his blood and anointed us with the oil of gladness. He carried us in his own body and placed us in the inn which is his holy Church. He left the two precious coins of his Word and his Sacraments until his return in glory.

And now, at the altar, we meet him. Our compassionate Savior meets us in our suffering and gives us eyes to recognize his presence and eyes to recognize those who are suffering. Here we are strengthened to suffer with Christ and for Christ who willing and lovingly and compassionately suffered for us. – Read the source: https://www.hprweb.com/2019/07/homilies-for-july-2019/

Reflection 7 – 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.

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.

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.

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?

“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.” – Read the source: http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/jul10.htm

Reflection 8 – A Good Neighbor

Which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves? —Luke 10:36

When Fred Rogers died February 27, 2003, scores of newspapers carried the story as front-page news, and almost every headline included the word neighbor. As host of the long-running children’s television show Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, he was well known to millions of children and their parents as a kind, gentle, warm person who genuinely believed “each person is special, deep inside, just the way they are.”

Mr. Rogers once told a journalist: “When we look at our neighbor with appreciative eyes, . . . with gratitude for who that person truly is, then I feel we are arm in arm with Christ Jesus, the advocate of eternal good.” Because Rogers recognized the value of each person, he believed in being a good neighbor to all.

When Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” He told the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-35). At the conclusion of this story, the Lord asked, “Which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” The answer? “He who showed mercy on him” (vv.36-37).

Who in our “neighborhood” needs a kind word, an arm of friendship, or an act of encouragement today? Jesus calls us to show love and compassion to others as we love God with all our heart, and our neighbor as ourselves.
— David C. McCasland

How many lives shall I touch today?
How many neighbors will pass my way?
I can bless so many and help so much
If I meet each one with a Christlike touch. —Jones

Your love for your neighbor is proof of your love for God (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).

Reflection 9 – The Good Atheist

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. —Romans 13:9

When a man learned that an elderly woman could no longer buy her medicine and pay her rent, he came to her rescue. He took her into his home and treated her as if she were his mother. He gave her a bedroom, prepared the food for her meals, bought her medicine, and transported her whenever she needed medical attention. He continued to care for her when she could no longer do much for herself. I was amazed when I learned that this good man was a zealous atheist!

The Jews were shocked by Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan, because He put him in a positive light. They despised the Samaritans the way I tend to look down on atheists.

A lawyer had tested Jesus by asking how he could inherit eternal life. Jesus asked him what the law said. The man answered that he must love the Lord with all his heart and his neighbor as himself (Luke 10:25-27). He asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” (v.29). In Jesus’ story, the Samaritan was the neighbor who showed kindness to the wounded man.

Jesus wanted this parable to challenge His listeners. The stories of the Good Samaritan and the good atheist remind us of this high standard of God’s Word: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Romans 13:9).
— Herbert Vander Lugt

To love my neighbor as myself
Is not an easy task,
But God will show His love through me
If only I will ask. —Sper

Needy people need our helping hand (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).

Reflection 10 – Eyes Of Compassion

A certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. —Luke 10:33

As Francisco Venegas, a school custodian in Colorado, watched the children on the playground, he saw a 9-year-old girl fall off a bench for no apparent reason. Another time he noticed her face twisted in a strange expression. Sensing that something was wrong, Francisco reported what he had seen to the school office.

A few days later, the girl had a seizure and was rushed to the hospital. The information that Francisco provided led doctors to perform a brain scan, and they found a tumor. Successful surgery and recovery followed.

Many people have called Francisco Venegas a “good samaritan,” a name drawn from a story Jesus told about three people who saw a man in need. The first two “passed by on the other side” (Luke 10:31-32). But the third, a Samaritan, showed compassion (vv.33-35).

Compassion cannot see someone in need without helping. It accepts the consequences of getting involved because it cannot bear to turn away. Compassion comes from a heart that is tender toward God and fellow travelers on the road of life.

Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan ends with a command for each of us: “Go and do likewise” (v.37). Jesus sees everyone through eyes of compassion, and He calls us to do the same.  — David C. McCasland

When you see someone in need,
Love demands a loving deed;
Don’t just say you love him true,
Prove it by the deeds you do. —Sper

Compassion is love in action (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).

Reflection 11 – New Neighbors

Who is my neighbor? —Luke 10:29

On December 26, 2004, masses of people suddenly became our new neighbors. They were left with broken lives after a monstrous tsunami swept across 12 Asian countries, killing tens of thousands of their friends, relatives, and countrymen. Millions of survivors became destitute. But how did they become our neighbors?

According to Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10, a neighbor is one who shows mercy on the needy. A lawyer had asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” (v.29). Jesus told him about an injured traveler who had been attacked by thieves, ignored by a priest and a Levite, and helped by a Samaritan. Then He asked, “Which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?” The lawyer answered correctly, “He who showed mercy on him” (vv.36-37).

Needy people who cross our path become our new neighbors, and we must be a neighbor by helping them. Too often we think of neighbors as related to us by geography. Instead, Jesus indicated that we are to consider anyone in need as a neighbor regardless of who they are or where they live.

Look around. Someone needs your help, mercy, and love. They are your new neighbors.
— Dave Branon

Reach out in Jesus’ name
With helping hands of care
To those who are in need
And caught in life’s despair. —Sper

Good exercise for the heart: Reach out and help your neighbor (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).

Reflection 12 – Exercise Your Right

Let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs. –Titus 3:14

Thomas Jefferson, who in 1776 wrote the first draft of the US Declaration of Independence, took it for granted that all of us possess certain God-given, “unalienable rights.” Yet, even in a democracy, there is fierce discussion about who is entitled to what rights.

Christians can look at rights from another perspective. Instead of being concerned about ourselves, we can think about what others need. In that sense, we have the “right” to help others, just as the Good Samaritan did (Luke 10:30-37). This parable is an illustration of our Savior’s own example, for we read in Acts 10:38 that He “went about doing good.”

Believers ought to follow Jesus’ example and be “do-gooders.” Even though that term is often used negatively, we who are grateful for God’s redemptive grace want to share with others the good things He gives to us.

We know that the gospel is far more than a humanitarian message of doing good and being good. It’s the message that God has provided forgiveness of sins through the death and resurrection of His Son. As we exercise our “right” to help people around us, let’s also prayerfully share with them that good news.    — Vernon C. Grounds

To weary souls along life’s road,
Help me, O Lord, to share their load;
To fallen souls enslaved in sin,
Help me, O Lord, their souls to win. —Jarvis

A heart that is open to Christ will be open to those He loves (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).

Reflection 13 – God Put You In My Way

He, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” —Luke 10:29

In the movie The Four Feathers, Harry Faversham left England in the 1880s to search for his friends in the King’s army in the Sudan. In his quest, Harry got lost and was near death in the vast deserts of Africa. Then, as his life was ebbing away, he was rescued by an African, Abou Fatma, who cared for him.

Stunned by the man’s kindness to a stranger, Harry asked why his new friend had done so much for him. Fatma’s response was direct: “God put you in my way!”

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, a priest and a religious scholar, whose calling was to help the downtrodden, ignored the need of a fallen traveler who had been left to die on the Jericho Road. A hated Samaritan, however, gave his time and resources to help the hurting man, displaying Christ’s compassion. He bandaged his wounds, brought him to an inn, “and took care of him” (Luke 10:34). The ravaged man had been put in the way of all three travelers, but only the Samaritan responded.

As we move through life, we are challenged to respond to the needs of people. We will either show them Christ’s love or be indifferent. How will we respond to those God chooses to put in our way?  — Bill Crowder

Lord, I need Your help even to see the needs of people
around me and then to know how to care for them.
Give me a heart of compassion like Yours and
opportunities to express Your love.

Compassion never goes out of fashion (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries).

Reflection 14 – Divine interruptions

A Samaritan made his way down to Jericho and encountered a wounded Jew lying alongside the road. Others had hurried by, too busy with own affairs to be interrupted. But the Samaritan, who was hated by the Jews and would be expected to pass by, “had compassion.” He “bandaged his wounds… set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him” (Lk 10:33-34).

God’s will come to us in strange ways, often in the form of interruptions. Just when we think our duties are done for the day and we’ve settled in for a quiet evening at home, someone calls on the telephone or shows up on our doorstep asking for our time. “Are you busy?” they ask. The best thing to do is to stop looking at these intrusions as interruptions. Instead, we should take them as opportunities that God is sending us to serve those in need – to listen well, to show love, to help them on their journey toward intimacy with God.

One early Christian writer, Jean-Pierre de Caussade, said, “Love is the duty of the present moment.” No matter what else we may have planned, love is our duty. “Who is my neighbor?” I ask. Jesus answers, “The person in need I’m sending your way.”

“Lord, if I’m feeling rushed today. I need your eyes to help me see that when an interruption comes it is an opportunity.”

Reflection 15 – Enough love to heal the world