Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

“He was…a drinker and a womanizer. When he got $100, he spent $110. He went bankrupt and he was left with a lot of debts.” This is a description one man offers of another … another whom he and a number of other families worked to support for over forty years. One can easily imagine the hurt feelings and frustration of these hard-working people, but it might be harder to understand why they continued to send this man money year after year. What if I told you the man being described was Oskar Schindler? And the families were some of the hundreds of Jews he saved from the German death camps in the Holocaust.

---

Entrance Antiphon: Ps 17(16):15 – “As for me, in justice I shall behold Your face; I shall be filled with the vision of Your glory.”

First Reading:  Dt 30:10-14 – “The word is very near to you: you have only to carry it out.”

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37 – “Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.”

Second Reading: Col 1:15-20 – “All things were created through Him and for Him.”

Alleluia: Jn 6:63c, 68c – “Alleluia, alleluia. Your words, Lord, are spirit and life; You have the words of everlasting life. Alleluia, alleluia.”

Gospel: Lk 10:25-37 ­– “Who is my neighbor?”

Communion Antiphon: Ps 84(83):4-5 – “The sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for her young; by Your altars, O God of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are they who dwell in Your house, forever singing Your praise.”

---

Today’s Gospel relates the familiar story of the Good Samaritan. Since “good” Samaritans might be the only kind of Samaritans most of us have heard of, it can be hard to hear this story as Jesus’ audience did. The Samaritans were a despised group. It would not only have been difficult for a pious Jew to imagine any Samaritan going out of his way to help a Jew, but also unpleasant to imagine having to be on the receiving end of such mercy. If there is one thing less palatable to most of us than helping our enemies, it is finding ourselves in a position in which we need the help of our enemies. The movie Schindler’s List portrays Jews in the middle of both of these situations. They were forced to work in a German munitions factory, unwillingly making the very weapons that would be used against their liberators. Meanwhile, their continued employment there ... the one factor which kept them from the concentration camps ... meant they were forced to rely on the assistance of a German with a greedy, mercenary reputation. Though the situation was morally reprehensible, it set the stage for dramatic acts of selfless humanitarianism.

         If you really think about it, we have already experienced more mercy than we can ever repay. The free gift of salvation offered through Jesus is not something humanity anticipated ... not even something we asked for. Not even in the deepest lamentations of our ancestors could it be imagined that our pleas for salvation would be answered.

         We are commanded to love God, and one another. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength … AND you shall love your neighbor as yourself” as we read in Deuteronomy and the Gospels of Saint Mark, Saint Matthew, and we heard it today from Saint Luke … and “Love one another as I have loved you” in the Gospel of Saint John.

When we reflect on the story of the Good Samaritan or the events of salvation history ... I think we can begin to understand how completely we fail to fulfill Christ’s commandment. When we imagine that biting back a bitter word or failing to indulge a certain vice somehow makes us better Christians ... we demonstrate instead how poorly we merit the title. Christ’s own self-sacrifice is our model ... and not merely for those we love, but also for our bitterest enemies.

         The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in reflecting on the Profession of Faith and the Incarnation, ponders the question, “Why did the Word become flesh?” The answer, put very simply is, “The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness” (CCC, #459). If we find the conduct of the Good Samaritan difficult to emulate, how much more are we challenged by the example of Jesus Christ? Mercifully, our salvation does not depend upon our conduct. Rather, mindful of Christ’s example, we must struggle to honor the gift of salvation by growing in faith, in love, and in good works. We have nothing to offer our merciful God except gratitude … but we do have a great deal to offer our neighbors in need.

         We are asked to love even our enemies. Even as the Jew and Samaritan were enemies, we are called to show love to those who make themselves our enemies, whether by something simple like hurtful gossip or something a bit more complex like acts of war. Again, from the Catechism, “Forgiveness … bears witness that ... in our world ... love is stronger than sin” (CCC, #2844). As Christians, we must bear witness to how completely love conquers sin. Again, take a look at Jesus upon the Cross … as it has been done for us, so we must try to do for others.

         “If love dwells in you, you have no enemy on earth” (Saint Ephraem the Syrian). Jesus’ listeners in the Gospel asked who their neighbor was … they could readily list their enemies. The story of the Good Samaritan illustrates that love makes neighbors of all.

         Our attitude in living out our Christian faith should not be one of rigorous adherence to precepts ... to rules and regulations ... but rather a profound gratitude for all we have received through Jesus Christ. If we are ever mindful of how much we have been given, I hope we will more readily share with those around us.

         The Eucharist is Christ’s most extravagant act of self-sharing. God not only forgives our transgressions ... but He redeems us and ... through the Eucharist shares His own divine life with us. In the Eucharist, Christ invites us to a deeper union with Him. We should accept this invitation with joy and extend it to our neighbors ... friends and enemies alike.