Word to the Wise
Monday, October 3, 2016 - Monday in the 27th Week in Ordinary Time
[Gal 1:6-12 and Luke 10:25-37]"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." [Luke]
The parable of the "Good Samaritan" is so familiar to us that we can easily settle back in our pew or chair and say, "Oh yeah, I know that one" and then move on to other thoughts. The "Go and do likewise" part fades into the cares of the day. The scholar of the law, the Levite and the priest are all good folks, but it looks like their faith does not carry any practical implications except to "pass by on the opposite side." As with all of Jesus' parables, we are invited to see ourselves in the light of the story.
Pope Francis continually challenges the whole church to be the one who treats the victim with mercy. There are those who feel that it is sufficient to go to church and receive the sacraments and say the creed when everyone else does. Others go a step further and make donations to agencies who will "take care of" the victim. But there are many who "don't want to get involved." The scholar of the law learned from Jesus that love of God and love of neighbor are two sides of the same coin and our failures in mercy have implications for our love of God. A quick reading of Matthew 25:31-45 will provide a list of acts of mercy. Catholic tradition supplies the "corporal and spiritual works of mercy" if we need other lists. In his book-length interview, THE NAME OF GOD IS MERCY, Pope Francis says that when we engage in those works of mercy, we "touch the very flesh of Christ." That means we encounter the real presence of Jesus in our suffering neighbors, and not just in the consecrated host.
Perhaps we can think of the times when a Good Samaritan helped us and then "go and do likewise." Touching the very flesh of Christ can have an amazing effect! AMEN
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