Deuteronomy 30:10-14
Colossians 1:15-20
Luke 10:25-37

The Good Samaritan

The 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time focuses on living out God’s Word in everyday life. The readings encourage faith in action, love for others, and seeing Christ as the center of all creation. The first reading teaches that God’s Word is already in our hearts. We can live it out if we listen and choose to follow it. The second reading shows Jesus as the one who holds all things together. Our faith unites us with Him and with one another. The gospel story of the Good Samaritan shows what compassion looks like, true love for others.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, a man beaten by robbers is left by the roadside to die. Two different travelers pass by him, a priest and a Levite, both of whom you would expect to help the injured man. Neither help but a third traveler comes and stops to tend to the man. The twist in the story is that the generous and compassionate stranger is a Samaritan, one of a northern tribe hated by the Jews.

Jesus has demolished all boundary expectations. It is not social definitions such as class, religion, gender, or ethnicity that determines who is our neighbor. A neighbor is a person who acts with compassion toward another. The point becomes not who deserves to be loved as I love myself, but that I become a person who treats everyone with compassion. (Loyola Press 15th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-c-sunday-connection)

How fitting this parable is for the society we live in today. The people different from my or others’ comfort zone are ignored or denigrated by my or their words and attitudes. Violence is rampant all around us, especially gun violence. Negative and/or false news fills social media to influence people negatively. Migrants are filled with fear because their future is threatened and/or in jeopardy. Racism is a scourge that people of color experience on a daily basis. Many of us are not aware we have lived our whole lives as white people of privilege. Without realizing it, we are often treated differently than our sisters and brothers of color. It is time for all of us to honestly pray and reflect on how we treat every person with whom we interact. We are called as Christians to respond with compassion and respect to all with whom we come in contact.

How aware are you of how you take your white privilege for granted? How can you become more aware of how people of color are treated?

In what ways can you show compassion and care to everyone you meet?