July 10, 2022, Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
In today’s Gospel from Luke (Lk. 10:25-37) we hear the parable of the Good Samaritan. It’s a familiar story for most of us. In fact, we have even gotten to the point where we use the title “Good Samaritan” in our routine conversations. As with all of Jesus’ parables we can get a hint of its true meaning if we look at the characters in the story.
The passage begins with a scholar of the law posing a question to Jesus, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Lk. 10:25). And Jesus says to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” (Lk. 10:26). Surely this scholar of the law would have known the familiar commandments from the Old Testament which comprise the answer. Thus, he replies, “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.” (Lk. 10:27, cf. Deut. 6:5; cf. Lev. 19:18).
When Jesus tells the scholar that he has answered correctly, the man continues to test Jesus in order to assert himself. So, he asks him another question, “And who is my neighbor?” (Lk. 10:29b). Jesus proceeds to answer him with the parable of the Good Samaritan.
He talks about a man who has fallen victim to robbers as he travels down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They strip and beat him and leave him for dead. Both a priest and a Levite encounter the man, but instead of offering help, they cross to the opposite side of the road. But a Samaritan who sees the man is moved to compassion and he stops to help. This is particularly surprising considering the hostility between Judeans and Samaritans.
The Samaritan treats the man’s wounds and takes him to an inn in order to care for him. The next day he pays the innkeeper to continue to care for the man, telling him that he would pay him back for any further cost incurred for the man’s treatment. Jesus then asks the scholar who he thinks was the neighbor to the stricken man. And he replies, “The one who treated him with mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (Lk. 10:37).
An examination of the actions of the men in the story reveal some interesting details. For example, the priest and the Levite represent the way in which the leadership of the people should act according to the rules for mercy and compassion from their laws in the Old Testament as an example to their followers. But instead, they chose to conform their behavior to the purity laws which restrict them from maintaining contact with blood or decaying flesh. Both cross to the other side of the road to maintain their ritualistic state of integrity even though they are actually walking away from the temple instead of toward the temple to perform the rituals which would require a state of purity. They could have easily helped the man and then undergone rites to regain their state of purity for the next time they were called to serve at the temple. But they do not feel obliged to help the victim and instead go about their way to ignore the man, demonstrating a bad example for those whom they lead.
Next we hear about the approach of the “Good Samaritan.” Now the Jews and the Samaritans have been at odds for many years over a dispute about which mountain was appropriate to worship God – Mount Gerizim or Mount Zion – as well as the right way to read sacred books, and above all who were the real Israelites. But the Samaritan puts all of this conflict aside to care and show concern for the victim at his own expense. As the story concludes both the scholar and Jesus identify this man as the true neighbor. He is acting the way Jesus would, with kindness and empathy.
But there as one more person worth considering in this story and that is the victim. Although he is in a dire situation, he may be in the condition to recognize who has stopped to help him. His animosity toward a Samaritan may cause him to refuse the help of an enemy. But we hear nothing of his response, only that he allows the Samaritan to help him both physically and monetarily.
We can learn a great lesson from the actions of these men. We could ignore the victim like the priest and Levite and instead continue to tend to our daily tasks. Or we could be like the Samaritan who is the good neighbor offering help and compassion in imitation of Jesus.
But most of all we may or may not be like the victim. Instead of accepting the help of a mortal enemy, we might stubbornly choose to wait for a friendly face to help.
When we are in difficult situations, we always have the choice to ask for and receive the help of Jesus. Or we can deny that Christ is available to us and refuse to seek his merciful help through prayer and the sacraments. In the First Reading for today (Deut. 30:10-14) Moses describes exactly the way in which we should act: “Return to the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul. This command is not too mysterious and remote for you. It is not up in the sky, nor is it across the sea. It is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.”
