Gospel Reflection July 14 – Msgr. Hendricks
Sunday, July 14
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Luke 10: 25-37
Gospel:
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.”
Gospel Reflection:
The lines we want to remember form the gospel today are, “Which 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.”
It is here in the words of Jesus where we get the commission to do as Jesus did. And who was it that did just that in the gospel? The one who was an outcast of the Jewish community, the Samaritan. This would have shaken up the ones who were listening to this story that Jesus told them. The point being that it is not the ones who are recognized as the leaders in the Jewish community whose actions should have spoken louder than words, but the very one who had no voice, went beyond the call of mercy and gave of himself and his resources to help the stranger.
The message of the gospel is always clear and sometimes frightening, for it points the finger at us. How is it that we can be like that good Samaritan and perform even the smallest acts of kindness and compassion to the stranger, the outcast, the person who is depending of us to help in their need?
I love this gospel because it melds faith and action. It causes us to bring our faith into action to the ones who cry out to us in their need.
Find someone today to show mercy and compassion towards, even if it is a small act of kindness. It might change and brighten their day and their world.
Monsignor Hendricks