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Gospel Reflection 20070715

Church is a place for sinners who want to do better.
When Jesus spent time in the company of tax collectors and other outcasts, the religious leaders criticized him. His answer? "The healthy do not need a doctor; sick people do. I have not come to invite the self-righteous to a change of heart, but sinners." (Check out Luke 5:31-32). So why be surprised to find people in Church who are not perfect? To expect anything else is naive; to demand it is immature.

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Love That Leads to Life
July 15, 2007

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel
Lk 10:25-37

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.”




“Teacher, What Must I Do to Inherit Eternal Life?” Since the human soul is spiritual its longings are infinite in scope, and so we naturally want to live an eternity of happiness, an eternity full of life. Yet this scholar of the law has keenly perceived that eternal life is more that just the next step after death. I must do something in order to inherit it. My existence and my redemption are totally unmerited gifts from God: I never asked him for the gift of life nor did I ask him to die for me, yet here I am, alive and redeemed. What is more, I can never earn either existence or God’s free love. Yet there is at least an aspect of eternal life that derives from my merit. The quality of my eternal life corresponds to the quality of my love and the goodness of my deeds on this side of eternity. God in his wisdom and goodness has given me freedom, intellect, and earthly life to strive for eternal life as opposed to eternal death (hell). Since not even God can make me love him, he allows me the gift to "merit" eternal life with him. Merit is to freely choose to live according to God’s plan for my life by cooperating with his grace.
The scholar’s question could be put in another way: "What must I do to be saved?" One would expect the response to be: "Believe, have faith!" Yet Jesus already knows that this man has faith. He confirms that faith is certainly necessary for salvation, but that faith must be translated into love if we are to have eternal life. When Jesus says, "What is written in the law", he presupposes faith in God, the author of the moral law. But in addition, he is inviting him to apply his faith to the living of the law in love. Faith and works are inseparable. "Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; but whoever keeps his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: whoever says, ’I abide in him,’ ought to walk just as he walked" (1 John 2:4-6).
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus completes the Old Testament Law of Moses by adding in the sentence, "and your neighbor as yourself." This in effect put a whole new "spin" on God's covenant. It showed how important Jesus considered our relations with each other. Jesus added to God's Covenant through Moses our need to serve him through others. The word "neighbor" comes from the old English root "nigh" which means someone near or close to us.

The Golden Rule, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27) which we hear in today’s gospel is not just a Christian thing. Every conceivable religion and culture in the world has the Golden Rule in one form or another. Here is a sampling:
Judaism “What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. That is the law: all the rest is commentary.”
Islam: “No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.”
Hinduism: “This is the sum of duty: do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you.”
Buddhism “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”
Confucianism: “Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you.”
If the Golden Rule was so well known in ancient cultures why then did Jesus spend so much time teaching it as if it was a new thing? It is because Jesus brought a completely new understanding to the commandment. The Golden Rule is understood differently in different religions and cultures. And the key to its understanding lies in the question that the lawyer asks Jesus in today’s gospel, “Who is my neighbor?” (Verse 29). Who is my neighbor that I have an obligation to love?
Among the Jews of Jesus’ time there were those who understood “neighbor” in a very limited sense. The Essenes of Qumran, for example, required new members to swear to love the children of light and hate the children of darkness. For them, your neighbor is the one who shares the same religious persuasion as yourself. Other groups, such as the Zealots, would understand neighbor to include only those who shared the same nationality and ethnicity with them. The average Jew would not regard the Samaritan as a neighbor. They are outsiders. The circle of neighborly love does not include them. Jesus came into a world of “we” and “them,” “we” being the circle of those recognized as neighbors, and “them” being the rest of the world regarded as hostile strangers and enemies of the people.
The new thing in Jesus’ teaching of neighborly love is his insistence that all humanity is one big neighborhood. Thus he broke down the walls of division and the borders of prejudice and suspicion that humans erected between “us” and “them.” To bring home this point he tells the story of the Good Samaritan. This man regarded as Enemy Number One by the Jewish establishment simply because he is Samaritan, is the one who finally proves himself to be neighbor to the Jewish man in need. Thus to the question “Who is my neighbor” Jesus’ answer is: Anyone and everyone without exception.
We all need to be reminded that the Christian understanding of “neighbor” admits of no borders. Today is the day to identify and tear down all the borders we have erected between those who belong to us (and are, therefore, deserving of our love and concern) and those who don’t (those others who can go to hell). Sometimes these walls of division are religious in nature, as in the case of religious intolerance, or in the mutual distrust and hatred between those who call themselves “conservatives” and those who call themselves “liberals.” Other times they are ethnic and racial, as in the bad blood between Blacks and Whites in places like South Africa and parts of the United States. They could also be social and economic, as in the divide between suburban neighborhoods and the inner city. The gospel today challenges us all to dismantle these walls. This way we work with Jesus to realize his dream of the world as a neighborhood without borders.
*** The victim of robbery and violence in today's Gospel represents mankind brutalized by sin. ***
What about the Jewish priest and Levite (deacon) and the Samaritan?

The Jewish priest and Levite (deacon)
Sometimes we look at the priest and the Levite in the story as persons with a less than acceptable attitude – for they passed by and did nothing. But note that Jesus makes no more mention of them nor does he make any judgment about them. If the priest or the Levite believed the man to be dead, they wouldn’t touch him – they were on their way to the Temple to worship. Under Jewish Law (The Law of Moses kept them from keeping the law of love! According to the law they could not come within 30 paces of a dead person without becoming ritually impure. This would mean that he could not minister to the people until that ritual impurity was lifted from him.), had they touched the body of a dead person, they would have to undergo a purification rite and there wasn’t time enough for that prior to their attending services at the Temple. If the priest were scheduled to be a part of the service, an opportunity that fell to a priest “by lot”, he would do all in his power to avoid ritual impurity – this might be his ONLY opportunity in his lifetime, he wouldn’t risk losing out and that’s an understandable situation. As far as they could see, the Priest and the Levite were doing what was right. That’s hard for us to understand but that is what they believed. Even so, the Priest and the Levite chose to only follow the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law as taught us by Jesus.
The Samaritan
The story Jesus told about a Good Samaritan who loves God and neighbor was a shocking story. Samaritans were politically dangerous and religiously they were thought to be heretics. They were a people to shun. For generations even their great prophets had told every good Jew that the Samaritans were definitely not and would never be their neighbors. In the story that Jesus tells, a Samaritan is the hero. To the Jews, there really wasn’t anyone any lower in stature or more hated than a Samaritan. To a Jew of Jesus’ time, a Samaritan was a vile, undeserving person of the lowest race. In effect … this is a RACIAL thing. Notice how the law scholar replies when Jesus asks, “Who was neighbor to the victim?” The law scholar’s reply is “the one who treated him with mercy”. He can’t bring himself to say “the Samaritan” so he says ”the one who treated him with mercy” that’s how deep rooted and hideous is his prejudice. Racial prejudice has a history as old and as long as the history of mankind. How do we speak of a collection of persons of different color, race or nation of origin? – Most often not very well. Like the young law scholar in the gospel, our prejudices are deep rooted and rarely, if ever, have any foundation in real reason.
Sisters and brothers, who are your neighbors? Are there Samaritans in your life? Do you treat and see others as less than neighbors because they are different from you or believe differently than you? If it were a black man at the side of the road would you help? Racism is rampant in our land and the religious people of today are not immune from it. What about the man or woman suffering from AIDS? Are we willing to be merciful or do we look the other way righteously proclaiming, “it’s their own fault or it’s God’s punishment”? How often is the one lying wounded by the side of the road a spouse, a parent, or a child who we treat abysmally? Are not those closest to us our neighbor also? Do we treat one another with compassion and mercy? Are we genuinely concerned about those near to us and do we treat all with care?
*** Please understand that Jesus is the real Good Samaritan who takes pity on all of us and comes to our aid, heals us and restores us to life. ***
“Ask not who is your neighbor, but prove that you are a neighbor by acting in mercy”
Jesus speaks of eternal life as “knowing the one, true God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.” That is ultimately the eternal life the lawyer sought and Jesus offered under the guise of the Good Samaritan.
So the Good Samaritan is clearly Jesus Himself. He is revealing that God loves the human person beyond the misery of his plight. Jesus Himself is the ultimate neighbor to the human person. As a Samaritan, Jesus depicts Himself as a hated foreigner, a suspicious stranger; indeed, it is true, is it not, that God is oft treated as a stranger among sinful humanity? “He came to his own people, but his own received Him not.” But at root, Jesus is a unique person who perceives and receives the unique person of every victim of humiliation and manipulation. We are each of us such a victim; our vulnerability comes from our sin and from the sins of others, who use us to get out of us what they please and then dump us to die. I suppose we are all robbers and victims at the same time. Christ, however, sees beyond this outrage, and seeks to restore both the robber and the victim to strength and peace. Christ, the divine Neighbor restores the true neighbor in each of us.
It is safe to say, I hope, that few human beings are completely devoid of true neighborly love; and those who seem to be, are perhaps not completely responsible for their “nothing for nothing” attitude. We can, and should, do all the analyzing we want to understand why people are the way they are, but, beyond analysis, the challenge of the Gospel remains. Jesus summarizes that challenge in the words: “go and do likewise.”
With reason, we can lament all of the problems that we face today in both the world and the Church, which contribute to our lack of neighborliness, in the true, Gospel sense of the word. At the risk of generalizing, contemporary man has lost the understanding of ultimate moral values, probably because he has lost the sense of both God and sin. Power, be it economic, technological, intellectual or political, has seduced us into thinking, indeed believing, that some of the ultimate questions of life can be answered by human effort alone, while others, as part of that same seduction, have simply been deemed redundant or irrelevant. But consider what we seem to be left with. Can it be possible that the American dream is to own a house? Are we so blind as to think the pursuit of happiness is exhausted in financial prosperity and the “freedom” to enjoy it? Can American values, British values, indeed any nation’s values, really be of any value without the law of God? Is death itself now as meaningless as conception? Is public discourse to be exhausted in proving others wrong, or in questions that only scrape the surface of the real sufferings and needs of people? Is it possible that the well being of the international community depends on a market economy? Is that all we are?
The only way for us, and for all humanity, to avoid falling into the temptation of theorizing, talking and even legislating our way into oblivion is to fulfill the command of Jesus, to follow the example of Jesus, to put on the mind and heart of Jesus: “go and do likewise.” On a daily basis, in a spirit of prayer and openness to Jesus, we need to ask ourselves, no matter how young or old: “to whom will I be a neighbor today? How can I be a neighbor in such-and-such a situation? What is the neighborly thing to do or attitude to adopt?” Practical charity in the here and now is worth more than all the homilies, books, debates and laws possible, for practical charity is the power and wisdom and holiness of God. Charity is not just giving a few dollars to the poor: charity is saying no to stealing, no to drugs, no to drunkenness, no to marital infidelity, no to laziness in worshipping God. Charity is saying yes to fairness and honesty, yes to the joy of self-control, yes to being sober for my family and friends, yes to deep and lasting respect for the body and soul of my spouse, yes to the Lord’s desire to love me.
Practical charity is God’s way; indeed, it is God Himself. It is neither weak nor stupid, but the power and the life of God. It is such charity that will change the world; it certainly starts at home, but it will not end there, for charity never ends. Where charity is, there is God; a mortal life lived in charity will be a life lived in God and will end, therefore, not in death, but in eternity. If you want eternal life, do charity, be a neighbor to all. The eternal fire of divine love will already burn within you. The recipe for eternity is not “mysterious or remote; no, it is something very near, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.”


“Go and do likewise” With these words Jesus brings the lesson to a full conclusion. By loving as the Good Samaritan loves we are on the path to a life that is never-ending, a life that we naturally long to experience and possess. We must always trust Jesus when we find that he places us in situations that truly stretch our love and generosity to limits that often hurt. He knows that we long for eternal life, but he also knows that the path to that life is a love that purifies, stretches, and demands our all. Therefore, Jesus invites us to follow him down the road of life-giving love. Every crucifix reminds us of this self-giving love that leads to life.

The living words of Jesus speak to us today. He tells again what he told the people 2000 years ago, “Go and do likewise.” Be merciful and compassionate to all God’s creatures. Be kind and considerate to all. Show your concern and your care for all who are in need of you. In other words, love God and love your neighbor.
Jesus challenges us in the gospel today. He challenges us to go beyond the minimal dictates of the law, to go beyond excuses no matter how righteous we think we are, to go even beyond authority when to follow the rules would keep us from care and compassion.
“Which of these three in your opinion was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”…”The one who treated him with mercy.” And Jesus says, “Go and do likewise.”
Our message today, our challenge, is to truly serve God through others.



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St. Henry


(972-1024)



As German king and Holy Roman Emperor, Henry was a practical man of affairs. He was energetic in consolidating his rule. He crushed rebellions and feuds. On all sides he had to deal with drawn-out disputes so as to protect his frontiers. This involved him in a number of battles, especially in the south in Italy; he also helped Pope Benedict VIII quell disturbances in Rome. Always his ultimate purpose was to establish a stable peace in Europe.
According to eleventh-century custom, Henry took advantage of his position and appointed as bishops men loyal to him. In his case, however, he avoided the pitfalls of this practice and actually fostered the reform of ecclesiastical and monastic life.

Comment:

All in all, this saint was a man of his times. From our standpoint, he may have been too quick to do battle and too ready to use power to accomplish reforms. But, granted such limitations, he shows that holiness is possible in a busy secular life. It is in doing our job that we become saints.

Quote:
“We deem it opportune to remind our children of their duty to take an active part in public life and to contribute toward the attainment of the common good of the entire human family as well as to that of their own political community. They should endeavor, therefore, in the light of their Christian faith and led by love, to insure that the various institutions—whether economic, social, cultural or political in purpose—should be such as not to create obstacles, but rather to facilitate or render less arduous man’s perfecting of himself in both the natural order and the supernatural.... Every believer in this world of ours must be a spark of light, a center of love, a vivifying leaven amidst his fellow men. And he will be this all the more perfectly, the more closely he lives in communion with God in the intimacy of his own soul” (Blessed Pope John XXIII, Peace on Earth, 146, 164).

posted by Mike Young @ 8:27 PM