5-Oct-15

Gospel Luke 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.”

Reflection:
When I boil down today's famous parable of the "The Good Samaritan" to its essence, I am left with one question and one answer:
“...........Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
........“You shall love........"
In today's gospel story, Jesus teaches each of us that love is an action word.
The priest and the Levite were not bad people; they may have even have had compassion for the injured man. But, nevertheless, they did not help him. And, therefore, they did not show love because love is an action word.
There is a line in the My Brother's Keeper prayer that reads: "Help me destroy my indifference and arouse my compassion."
Compassion is a good thing, but in and of itself, it does nothing.
The next line in the prayer reads: "Make me concerned enough to 'act' in your name to help those who cry out to you...."
To love is to take action and to put someone else before self.
We have all been inspired by the thousands of stories of self sacrifice made by both emergency responders and average citizens in the 9-11 and Boston Marathon tragedies. Stories of people, who at the risk of their own lives, rushed in to help the injured.
These are the "good samaritans" of today.
My "action," my "love" need not be so dramatic. But, if I hope to "inherit eternal life,"
I cannot simply "pass by" a suffering soul.

"Let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action." 1 John 3:18