Word to the Wise
Monday, October 8, 2012 - Monday in the 27th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gal 1:6-12 and Luke 10:25-37]"And who is my neighbor?"
The question highlighted above is one of those "What if...." type questions! The scholar of the law knows the law well. He knows what the priorities are among the 613 precepts. Jesus compliments him on that understanding. But the lawyer can't leave it alone. Like so many people confronted with a demanding challenge, he wants to know if he can avoid some of the implications! One can grind down any great principle with "What if....?" questions!
Jesus' reply is well known to us. His story has given us a common expression, "a good Samaritan!" In this story the "healf-dead" man along the road presents a challenge to the priest and Levite. If they touch what looks like a dead person, they become unclean and unsuitable for duty at the temple until they have undergone a lengthy purification! Notice that they don't even show "compassion," but get as far away as possible. It is the Samaritan who shows compassion, transcending the cultural bias between Samaritan and Jew! He is the "neighbor," just as the victim is!
There is much to ponder about this incident, but I will offer this one challenge. Anytime we try to qualify love with a "What if...?" question, perhaps we shouldn't take the question for granted, but rather go back and ask ourselves WHY we are asking "What if....?" The Gospel tells us that the lawyer was seeking "to justify himself." That could be true of us as well, but we won't know unless we have the courage to ask! AMEN
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