Word to the Wise
Monday, October 9, 2023 - Monday in the 27th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jonah 1:1—2:2, 11 and Luke 10:25-37]"Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?."...."And who is my neighbor?" "Which of the 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]
OCTOBER 9 ST. LOUIS BERTRAND, O.P.
The parable of the Good Samaritan has to be one of the most familiar of Jesus' parables. The term "Good Samaritan" has made its way into ordinary speech and there are even laws called "Good Samaritan laws" that protect those who help in time of disaster from unnecessary lawsuits. What is at issue in this parable is the translation of faith into practice. The question, "And who is my neighbor?" is the central question. The "scholar of the law" wished to "justify himself." The answer from Jesus is basically, "EVERYONE is a neighbor."
The connection between devotion and mercy can be easily lost if we identify faith entirely with sacramental and devotional practices. It can be easily lost if we separate the love of God from love of neighbor. The law scholar may have been asking a question that occurs to many a well-intentioned but culturally blinded Christian, "Do I have to show mercy to_________?" The cultural barrier between Jew and Samaritan was very strong. [cf. John 4:20] The religious barrier created by Mosaic practice which made the touching of a dead body (the victim looked like he might be dead) an act of "uncleanness" also enters into this on the part of the priest and Levite. It would require them to go through additional rituals of purification - in other words, it was "inconvenient" to stop and help a fellow Jew.
Jesus' parable challenges all the "What if....?" questions that arise when we find ourselves in the position of showing mercy to someone whose situation confronts us with our prejudices and cultural conditioning. Piety that excludes mercy is empty, as the prophets before Jesus as well as Jesus himself, teach us. The Samaritan in the parable did not allow religious or cultural barriers to prevent him from showing mercy. Jesus' challenge to the law scholar is our challenge, too. "Go and do likewise!" AMEN