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GOSPEL POWER l OCTOBER 4, 2021 l MONDAY
GOSPEL POWER l OCTOBER 4, 2021 l MONDAY
27th Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Lk 10:25-37 25
A lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” 29But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Although kindness to strangers is commanded in Lv 19:34, the experience of the Babylonian exile has made the Jews at the time of Jesus more cautious, so that “neighbor,” for most of them, is restricted to a fellow-Jew. When Jesus replies with this parable to the self-justifying lawyer who is testing him, he wants to invite him to move beyond his narrow mindset — which is what metanoia means. Jesus draws from him a verbal admission that someone who is regarded by Jews as an enemy can, in fact, be a neighbor. For Jews are hostile to Samaritans because of age-old conflicts. But in testing Jesus, who is Truth-in-person, the lawyer finds himself in an awkward reversal of roles. Now it is Jesus who interrogates him, leading him to a humble recognition of the truth that anyone who responds with compassion to the need of another is a neighbor, regardless of the labels we attach to that person.
Lord Jesus, may we never waste the opportunities that come our way to be neighbors to the needy. Amen.
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By Daughters of St. Paul | Phil-Malaysia- PNG-Thai Province
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GOSPEL POWER l OCTOBER 4, 2021 l MONDAY
27th Week in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Lk 10:25-37 25
A lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.” 29But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. 31Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. 34He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Although kindness to strangers is commanded in Lv 19:34, the experience of the Babylonian exile has made the Jews at the time of Jesus more cautious, so that “neighbor,” for most of them, is restricted to a fellow-Jew. When Jesus replies with this parable to the self-justifying lawyer who is testing him, he wants to invite him to move beyond his narrow mindset — which is what metanoia means. Jesus draws from him a verbal admission that someone who is regarded by Jews as an enemy can, in fact, be a neighbor. For Jews are hostile to Samaritans because of age-old conflicts. But in testing Jesus, who is Truth-in-person, the lawyer finds himself in an awkward reversal of roles. Now it is Jesus who interrogates him, leading him to a humble recognition of the truth that anyone who responds with compassion to the need of another is a neighbor, regardless of the labels we attach to that person.
Lord Jesus, may we never waste the opportunities that come our way to be neighbors to the needy. Amen.