15th. Sunday,
Year (C)
(Deuteronomy 30:10-14;
Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37)
"Teacher," he asked, "what
must I do to inherit eternal life?"
That
should be our attitude at this very moment as we try to understand and learn
from the Gospel, before next going on to offer Jesus' self-sacrifice to the
Father, and then finally, in Holy Communion, to surrender ourselves to Jesus
that He might, by the gift of His Most Holy Spirit draw us with Himself to the
Father: Lord Jesus, what must I do to
inherit eternal life?
Jesus
replied by asking the lawyer what the Law had to say about the way to eternal
life, and he responded without hesitation:
'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 neighbour as yourself.'
Jesus had
nothing to add: You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.
The
lawyer went on to try to justify himself, many would say, for having asked a
question to which he already knew the answer; but was he, perhaps, rather
choosing to humble himself yet further by revealing what was
most deeply troubling him, thereby paying Jesus a notable double
compliment by asking Him again:
And who is my neighbour?
Yes, he
was an expert in the Law who knew well the words of the Law and it is quite
customary to suspect that such a legal man was setting some sort of trap for,
‘testing’, Jesus; but Jewish spiritual training by God was at its peak when
Jesus the Messiah came to His people and so I am prepared to take this
particular lawyer seriously and suggest that here he was really asking Jesus to
tell Him what the words ultimately meant, that his question was a true
expression of the humility of a man becoming ever more humbly aware of the
limits of his own learning and sincerely seeking to find the way to eternal
life from One mysteriously wiser and better than he.
Often
today self-styled experts and militant proselytisers attempt to show off their
knowledge of the Bible by writing or reciting words from or about the Bible:
words are their favourite medium.
Spiritual appreciation, however, is much more demanding than a facility
with biblical subjects and biblical words: it normally requires serious
spiritual experience and training and a lot of personal discipline, it is not
something just ‘picked up’ in the course of ordinary or even scholarly living;
it demands an understanding which only comes from respect for, and submission
to, God's revelation and Mother Church’s authoritative exposition of that
revelation, along with her centuries old spiritual tradition arising from her
appreciation of worthy responses to His subsequent historical initiatives; it
involves humility, patience, and prayer.
Lord, who is my neighbour?
Jesus, in
answer to this learned man's humility, told him a parable -- or perhaps He made
use of a real-life incident -- about one whom today we call the Good Samaritan,
and another who had fallen into the hands of thieves. This unfortunate victim -- probably a Jew and
possibly a priest -- was going down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. It was the most public road in all Judea and
the only road between those two cities for thousands of priests and Levites
who, after having served in the Temple at Jerusalem according to a fixed rota
system, would then return home until their next period for service. Despite being much used, this road was
extremely dangerous for travellers, twisting and turning through rocky desert,
and -- in the course of about 20 miles -- falling steeply some 3000 feet from
the chill heights of Jerusalem to the near tropical depths of Jericho. Jesus’ parable, therefore, when it told of a
traveller falling into the hands of robbers, was recalling an all-too-frequent
occurrence in the course of which the bandits of the Judean desert did not
scruple to kill at times. In this
particular case however, having robbed the man, they were content to leave him,
wounded and helpless, by the side of the road.
Now, a
priest, making the same journey from the Temple in Jerusalem down to Jericho,
came upon the wounded man and: When he
saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Then a
Levite, having likewise completed his rota of service in the Temple and
returning back to his home in Jericho, passed
by on the opposite side.
Both the
priest and the Levite could well have recognized the victim as a fellow Jew,
indeed, perhaps as a fellow priest or Levite.
And yet, both of them, out of considerations perhaps for their own
physical safety, legal purity, or other more personal and family reasons,
passed him by. Finally, a Samaritan
arrived on the scene.
Now,
Samaritans were regarded as enemies by the Jews; and, generally, Samaritans
reciprocated such sentiments. In this
case, however, the Samaritan of whom Jesus spoke, having chanced upon the
wounded man:
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'
Jesus was
indeed revealing one meaning of the word "neighbour" to the lawyer:
for His story showed that an ‘enemy’ could -- should the occasion arise -- show
himself to be a true neighbour; and consequently, it brought into question
Jewish national pride and religious exclusiveness.
Notice
this Samaritan, however: he was riding a horse/donkey, had plenty of money and
time to spend on the injured man, was able to plan a return journey (a
Samaritan going towards Jerusalem!) dangerous though it was especially
for someone so obviously ‘well off’ and so unpopular as a Samaritan. Who is my neighbour? Who was the Samaritan?
Remember
some Jews once said of Jesus (John
8:48–49):
“Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan
and are possessed?” Jesus
answered, “I am not possessed; I honour My Father, but you dishonour Me.
Notice that Jesus did not deny the charge of being a
Samaritan. Was He recognizing or
reserving the title of ‘Good Samaritan’ for Himself?
The
passing priest and Levite had the word of God on their lips, as Moses said:
The word is very near to you, already in your
mouth.
That word
they could repeat, discuss, dispute about, and perhaps use to display their
learning. It was so easy, on such
occasions, to forget that Moses had gone on to say that the word was also in
your heart, that you may obey it.
Now,
sinful, worldly, men have always been able to use the Word of God as a weapon
for personal advancement in an earthly kingdom, despite the fact that God had
originally given it as a guide to our heavenly home. Those who use their facility with the Word of
God as a weapon for earthly advancement need only to apply their natural
talents and human techniques in such a way as to win earthly patrons and stir
up simple supporters by making and championing short-term and shallow judgments
favouring popular prejudice and personal advantage. On the other hand, those using God’s Word as
a guide to our heavenly home, have to ask, knock, wait for, and pray to, Him
Who is infinitely above us and Who judges the hidden secrets of mind and heart:
only then may they possibly be enabled to proclaim His truth and manifest His
beauty before men rather than promote their own popularity and success.
The Word
of God is meant to be ever at work in our lives, as the prophet Isaiah (55:11)
speaking in the name of the Lord tells us:
My word
be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall
accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent
it.
The
lawyer, as a Jew, had long learnt to limit the word "neighbour" to
his fellow Jews; but, nevertheless, He was beginning to feel uneasy about it
and so he asked Jesus who is my
neighbour? Whereupon Jesus showed
him that it was not possible to limit the significance of God's Word according
to human prejudices. However, when Jesus
finally asked him:
Which of
these three, in your opinion, was neighbour to the robbers’ victim?
The
expert in the Law still could not bring himself utter the words "the
Samaritan", so ingrained was his Jewish prejudice. He could only prevail upon himself to say, the
one who treated him with mercy. To
which words Jesus rejoined: Go and do likewise.
We are
all like that in so many ways, which is why the same prophet Isaiah proclaimed:
The Lord
says, ‘on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite
spirit, and who trembles at My word’. (66:2)
We cannot
determine or fix beforehand where the Word of God will lead us; Isaiah says we
should tremble -- perhaps even thrill -- at the sound of it, because the Word
of God is meant to work in us, and -- by the power of the Holy Spirit -- to
change us, in accordance with plans God has for us: it is a harbinger of
beauties as yet unseen and possibilities as yet unknown. As we heard in the second reading all the
fullness of divinity dwells in Jesus, and that is why we cannot try to restrict
the effect of His Word in our lives. We
are called to become children of God in Jesus, and if we are to be found in the
likeness of Jesus we must be formed by His Spirit according to His Word. We must, therefore, allow His Spirit to lead
us wherever He wills if we are to reach the blessings prepared for us,
blessings we cannot even begin to imagine of ourselves let alone prepare
for. The Spirit alone knows the depths of
God, He alone is Holy and Wise, and we must trust ourselves to Him.
Most
people today seek to control/limit the effect of the Word and the work of the
Holy Spirit of God in their lives. Like
the Jews of old, they want to form themselves in accordance with traditionally
accepted models of goodness and holiness, or practices popular in society
around them, or again, according to their own fancies. Today, for example, most people's idea of
Christian goodness enables them to recognise and appreciate work done for the
poor and for children in need; a life devoted to prayer, however, especially as
a monk or nun in relative solitude, seems alien to them, perhaps, even
inhuman. Modern ideas of sanctity
usually involve soft words and attractive, pleasant, attitudes; on the other
hand, clear doctrinal teaching and firm discipline in moral matters is thought
to be unacceptably rigid and unsympathetic.
And so, the modern disciple of Jesus will frequently be found trying to
interpret the guidance of the Holy Spirit along broad, loose, lines acceptable
to modern ideas of human rights, the freedom of individuals, and God’s gentle
and accommodating goodness. However,
holiness of this sort is likely to be just as false and inadequate as, and
possibly less sincere than, the more exclusive holiness of the Scribes and
Pharisees in Jesus' times.
People of
God, listen to the Word of God as proclaimed by Mother Church, not to that so
glibly quoted for popular acceptance by frequently self-appointed and
self-taught gospellers. Beg the Holy
Spirit to lead your life along the way of Jesus, to form you in Jesus’
likeness, and then try to answer God’s call to faith, trust, and love with a
humble simplicity of mind and heart; do not allow your own prayerful thoughts
and conscientious actions to be distorted or determined by the selfish pride,
secret prejudices, and rampant fears (suicide rather than God-willed death,
flee His face rather than welcome His coming) of modern society.
The
Spirit first led Jesus out into the desert and then along the most unlikely way
of the Cross: the disciple of Jesus is not greater than his Master; he or she
too, must be open, willing, and obedient, enough to follow the lead of the Holy
Spirit. As Jesus said:
The wind
blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it
comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)
Finally,
what is perhaps the greatest jewel hidden in the field of today’s
readings: who was, who is, the Good
Samaritan? How could he just postpone,
or at least seriously interrupt, his journey to spend a night at the inn where
he was not likely to have been popular as a Samaritan? Why was he alone ready and able to deal personally
with the man’s wounds, why did he not just pay the hotelier extra for that
first partial day’s care, as well as for the subsequent days’ care, ‘bed and
board’? Was the Samaritan, in fact, a
hint at Jesus Himself? The lawyer was asking ‘who is the neighbour to
whom I should do good’ but there is the hidden question ‘who is the neighbour
doing such good in the parable?’ Jesus
is indubitably the supreme and most sublime ‘neighbour’ for mankind, and He was
truly seeking to help this humble despite-being-learned lawyer to realize that
he must ultimately learn how to put himself under the guidance of the Spirit of
the coming Kingdom of God which Jesus was both proclaiming and
introducing.
Jesus’
own journey would be interrupted His suffering and death on Calvary before
coming back again to journey upwards toward the heavenly Jerusalem. In the
meantime, after having cured mankind’s grievous wound -- for He alone could
provide such uniquely essential medicine for fallen man -- He then committed
him to the care of His Church, the inn and hotelier in His parable.
Today we
are invited to humbly rejoice in the wonder and the mystery of Jesus: to think
over, mediate on, His wisdom, His goodness, and the challenge His sublimity
offers our understanding and appreciation of His oneness with us. A Sunday can pass by quickly chewing such
cud!
