Homily anecdote: Some of us may wonder why I titled my reflection, ‘Take care of him.’ It is the Latin translation of ‘Curam illius habe’ which is the motto guiding my priestly consecration, and which I took for myself on the first day I arrived my mission land Ghana shortly after my ordination. And it is beautiful to know that the motto comes from the gospel of today. It is the gospel of my life and my mission. Sent to the poor in the suburb of Ghana and in that little home called ‘Good Samaritan home for the mentally challenged’, I have never stopped interrogating my spirit; ‘Are you doing this work out of law (because you are sent to do it and you must obey) or are you doing it out of love (because you ought to do it for the sake of the love for the other)? However, each time I look at the faces of those kids, I see the wounded face of Jesus telling me ‘please for my sake take care of him.’ This is not a mere coincidence because it is a prayer I made to God during my ordination to help me carry his wounded sheep on my shoulders so that their odour may be my odour, and that the oil of anointing poured on me may flow down to anoint their different situations. Meanwhile, celebrating my first mass on the soil of Ghana on September 14, 2016 (feast of the exultation of the cross) I saw the mission as a cross which I can only carry with the help of him who has called me. And believe you me that even in the midst of difficulties I have never ceased to smile because I am sure of the voice that said to me, ‘Curam illius habe’ (take care of him).
First reading: Dt 30:10-14
The chap. 30 we read today contains the last sermon of Moses delivered on the plains of Moab before his demise. Like their pagan counterparts, the wandering people of Israel believed that to access the divine, there must be an intermediary. And the role played by Moses in their relationship with God (one who pleads their course and interprets the law) substantiates their belief. But on the contrary, Moses reminds them today that the God of Israel is never far away from his people. And unlike many ancient sages who travel distances in quest for knowledge, he made them to understand that the commandments should neither be sought at distances or on written tablets needing interpretations, rather they have been written in their hearts. This is simply a way of telling them that they do not have any excuses not to obey the commandments of God when he finally departs from them.
Gospel: 10:25-37
Last week Sunday, the evangelist Luke presented the mission of the seventy-two disciples as a way of projecting the universality of salvation. In other words, salvation not limited only to the Israelites who have enjoyed the appellation ‘the chosen people of God’, but to the whole human race. Now, we suppose that the Good News preached by the seventy-two spread beyond the territory of the Jews. Hence, it is only this understanding that will enable us to grasp the message of today’s gospel reading. The image painted by Luke in the encounter of Jesus with the Jewish lawyer (who represented the whole Jewish ‘nation’) in the context of the return of the seventy-two from mission, is the one that calls his attention; ‘look you certainly do know the law, that is why you are able to recite it, but in actual sense it does not live in your heart. The ‘other’ (Samaritan, gentile) actually live the law. Please go and do the same.’
“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
This is the question of the lawyer to Jesus and should be the question we all must ask Jesus every given day in order to validate our relationship with God and our neighbor. Meanwhile, one could imagine what motivated the lawyer to ask Jesus a question concerning eternal life. Most probably, since the testimony of the seventy-two was given in public, the lawyer might have heard Jesus say, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submitted to you; rejoice instead that your names are written in heaven” (Lk 10:20). Therefore since Jesus assured heaven to his disciples, the lawyer did not hesitate to ask about himself and extensively about those who are not Jesus’ direct disciples. Being a man of the Law, Jesus employed the parable of the Good Samaritan to educate him that eternal life simply means transcending beyond knowing the Law to practicing the Law. Hence in the parable, Luke pointed out two characters:
1 The Jewish priest and Levite: these two persons were operating on the philosophy of legalism. Due to their blind understanding of the Law and their misplaced zeal for religious duties, they failed to help a fellow in need. Probably they might have thought; ‘if this man is dead and we touch him, we will surely be unclean and will not be able to exercise our sacred duties for seven days (Nb 19: 11). Perhaps they feared that bandits were using a decoy to ambush them.
2 The Samaritan: he was guided by the philosophy of love. He proved to be generous enough to the wounded Jew whom he saw as a neighbor. He risked his life (because he could have also been attacked). He risked defilement. He gave his time, his money and above all his heart of love and compassion.
There are basically two motives in Jesus’ parable:
a.) In the first place, Jesus wished to tell his fellow Jewish brothers that their conception of neighbor is limited and erroneous. For the lawyer and for others, the word neighbor simply means ‘a fellow Jew.’ Therefore the Samaritans and the gentiles are excluded.
b.) Secondly, Jesus teaches that those (Jews) who supposed that salvation is meant for them are rather far from it. The priest and the Levite were ‘Law keepers’ but in true sense they lacked the spirit of the Law. But the Samaritan on the contrary who though considered outside the law and from an impure race proved to be the true observer of the Law.
Second reading: Colossians 1:15-20
Just as he addressed the Galatians last week against some Jewish conservatives and their circumcision message, today Paul addresses the Colossians to be on guard against some false teachers and Gnostics who had a confused image of Christ that denies his divinity. Thus the teaching of Paul today is a reaffirmation of the divinity of Christ:
a.) Christ as the source of creation and his supremacy over creation: “Through him all things were made…” (V. 16)
b.) the coeternal and consubstantiality of Christ with the Father; “In him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (V. 19)
c.) the ‘mediative’ and redemptive work of Christ; “And through him God reconciled himself with all things, and making peace with all things by the blood of his cross” (V. 20).
This message of Paul connects its readers to the first reading and the gospel in the sense that Jesus is ‘the new Law’ of God made flesh and dwelling in our heart. Through him, God has come to dwell with us and should no longer be sought at distances (message of Moses to the Israelites). And by his redemptive death, he has reconciled all things with God. Therefore whether Jew or Samaritan or gentile, we are now one common family who are no more separated by legalism (image of the priest and the Levite), but who are united by love (image of the Good Samaritan).
Life Message
1. The danger of legalism
From the parable we learn that when we are legally minded, then there is the likelihood to lose the essence of human relationship. When the emphasis is placed on the Law and not on love, then we become less human. The priest and the Levite used in the parable were righteous from the point of view of the Law but proved themselves less human by their negligence of human need.
How many laws of our societies truly promote the love and respect for the human person? Even those of them that pretend to promote the freedom of the human person are found wanting. How absurd it is to uphold the freedom of one and at the same time match on the freedom of the other (the question of abortion and others).
The world with its technological growth pretend to be making human society a global village but people of our time and nations are constantly growing in apathy and strife.
2. From Jerusalem to Jericho
Let us be sure of this that the road from Jerusalem to Jericho has not closed. If you care to know, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho lies in our homes, our parishes, our schools, our work-places etc. There are still those who are bullied, beaten, abused and denied of justice and their human dignity. So let us not look for Jericho road outside the limits where we live and move. In them we still find helpless fellows lying wounded by uncontrolled verbal, emotional and physical abuses. How many of us do pay attention to the sufferings of others? Even in our families, many a time we are so busy with our work that we fail to notice those who need our attention. Like the Good Samaritan, Jesus invites us today to stop and bandage the wounded and take care of them. They need our time, our money and our love. It does not matter who is wounded or abandoned. He is just a neighbor. He is a fellow human being like you and I whose condition of life is crying for pity.
How is my relationship with people who differ from me in skin-color, language, religion and territory? Do I see them like the Jews see the Samaritans (impure race). What of that poor soul around my neighborhood who due to family crises, war and other conditions of life has made to lie on the ‘Jericho road’ of suffering? Do I see in him or her, the wounded face of Jesus? Let us ask ourselves these questions today and see if we are better than the priest and the Levite in the parable.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, God of mercy we ask you to forgive us in those moments we have neglected the needs of the suffering brethren and failed to show them love. Let your Holy Spirit melt our hearts and remold us into new creatures, so that like Jesus, we will no longer allow anyone to live outside the territory of our love and compassion. Amen.
PAX VOBIS!
