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

In order to understand this story, we need to know that a Levite or a priest was forbidden to get near someone who was dead or was diseased with a skin infection, or had any kind of fluids coming out of them that they shouldn't touch. So, in a way, they were simply doing what the law required. And it's so interesting that this story then reveals the part of the law that is so dangerous when it can separate you from what is so basic to human nature, and basic to what God wants us to be.

Love, mercy, compassion, a desire to feel someone else's pain. That's the call of the gospel. That's what it means, if you love God with all your heart, and all your mind, and all your soul, you will also love your neighbor in the same way. That's the law that's written on our hearts.

Closing Prayer

Father, it's easy for us to get caught up in regulations and rules that free us from the most human of responses. Keep us open to your compassion and your wisdom that has shared with us a way of life that brings life always to those around us. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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