The
first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: “If I stop to help
this man, what will happen to me?” But the good Samaritan reversed the
question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?” –
Martin Luther King Jr
Gospel
Text: (Lk 10:25-37)
There
was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what
must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the
law?
How do you read it?”
He said in reply,
“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.”
He replied to him, “You have
answered correctly;
do this and you will live.”
But because he wished to
justify himself, he said to Jesus,
“And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied,
“A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They
stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to
be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite
side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on
the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
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.’
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.”
Today it is impossible to turn on the
news without hearing about tragedy occurring in the world. It becomes
almost easier to just turn the TV off, or better yet, not turn it on at all.
There seems to be so much pain and evil going on today that it makes one feel
like nothing can be done to help, let alone stop, all of this fear, hatred, and
heartache. However, choosing to not turn on the news, or ignoring the
realities of this world is definitely not going to fix anything.
The societal roles and therefore the
behaviors of the men in today’s gospel draws a parallel to how society tends to
operate today. It takes time and effort for the rich to help the poor, for the
healthy to help the sick, or for the whole to help the broken. Just as in
the story, it is easier for the priest and Levite to not be advocates, because
it is in their interest to just keep walking. In the same way, it is
easier to ignore the news, so one does not have to feel a responsibility to
take action.
God is calling us all to be the
Samaritan, even if He does not ask us specifically.
Being a servant of God and neighbor is
not an easy task, and is not something that can be turned on and off when it is
convenient. I recently watched a video of the chemical weapons launched
in Syria. I was in shock at the torture that was occurring within the world;
children were writhing to catch their breaths, but to no avail. These videos
were truly heartbreaking, and I honestly wanted to turn them off, but those
children disclosed Jesus in His most distressing disguise. It made me wonder
how it would have felt to watch Jesus on the cross, gasping for air. Jesus
suffered for us and with us, but He still calls us, daily, to stand up against
wickedness and evil.
The wickedness of the world will not
be fixed simply by being informed. We are all “called” to be advocates
for one another, no matter who we are to society, because our truest selves are
children of God.
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