FIFTEENTH SUNDAY OF YEAR “C”

Luke 10, 25 – 37

 The Good Samaritan

On one occasion Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem accompanied by his disciples. He thought he’d break journey for a little rest and relaxation, so he sent two of his disciples to make arrangements in a Samaritan village that lay just ahead. But the Samaritans wouldn’t have them and threw them out. The disciples were understandably annoyed, particularly James and John who suggested that Jesus call down lightening on those nasty people, as they thought them to be, and reduce them to ashes. After all, they were Samaritans, half Jew half pagan; and the disciples of Jesus were a pure race. Besides, they were tired and hungry, which explains their anger. Calling down lightening on a whole village of men, women and children! That would be genocide of the New Testament variety. Jesus would do nothing of the sort. So what would he do instead? He would talk about the Samaritans in a good way the very next thing. He would tell the story of the Good Samaritan. Those nasty, inhospitable, heretical Samaritans are now described as good! And both descriptions in the same 10^th. Chapter of Luke’s gospel, read last Sunday and today.

 We can admire the noble-hearted Jesus who doesn’t take offence but sees the goodness in people, and we trust that despite our sins he sees the good spots in us. There’s a little verse that goes like this: “There is so much good in the worst of us. There is so much bad in the best of us. That it ill-behoves any of us, to rail at the faults of any of us.” (It happens in the best of families). In this parable of the man moved by pity the priest and the Levite acted within the strict limits of the law in not helping a foreigner. You can be legally and politically correct, but it doesn’t follow you’re a good person. God prefers good persons to correct actions. Here Jesus points to the existence of a higher law: the law of compassion. The law of compassion could not ignore the needs of the injured man, beaten by dacoits and left half dead.  The Samaritan exercised mercy by binding up his wounds, pouring oil them, and taking him to safety. The Samaritan alone was a true neighbour. St. Augustine gave this parable a spiritual interpretation. According to Augustine, Jesus is the Good Samaritan; the injured man represents our wounded humanity wounded by sin. With the wine of his blood Jesus cleanses the wounds which sin has inflicted upon us, heals them with the oil of the Spirit, and removes us from certain death into the safety of his kingdom.

This beautiful interpretation shows us how Jesus acts always with compassion. Since we are called to love like Christ, we too must be moved by his Spirit. Mercy is not hobbled by fences or limits. The merciful heart is not tied down by legal niceties or self-interest or self-protection. And now here is my final observation about today’s Good Samaritan gospel. When this particular Gospel is read in church, the preacher invariably focuses on the love of neighbour, explaining that we cannot love God unless we love the neighbour. While that is quite true, I fear that most of the time we treat the first paragraph of today’s Gospel quite casually. The first paragraph is about loving God in himself. Allow me to explain to you what loving God in himself means. First of all we can approve and esteem the good that he possesses or he is. We can delight in him and rejoice in his blessedness. Then, we can tend towards communion with him and total abandonment to him in the love of friendship. Finally, we can desire the he be known and loved by all people, that his name be held holy and that his will be done. Let me end with a little story about Mary Martin, the lead player and singer in the Broadway production of “The Sound of Music.” She came to know that Oscar Hammerstein was ill with cancer. Oscar Hammerstein was the lyricist of the “Sound of Music.”

Shortly before he died Mary Martin visited him in hospital and they chatted familiarly. As Mary Martin was about to leave, Oscar Hammerstein handed her a little paper saying, “As I was waiting for you I wrote this little bit of poetry. Take it; I think you’ll like it.” Mary Martin came out of the room and opened the note to read the following: “A bell is no bell till you ring it. A song is no song till you sing it. And love in your heart wasn’t put there to stay. Love isn’t love till you give it away.” And that’s the message I give you today. Without fear or hesitation tell God that you love him. “But I’m a congenital liar” I hear you say. Not to worry – God can turn liars into lovers.

   PRAYER: Jesus Lord, you are compassion and love. Do not allow me to harden my heart against the needs of others. Give me your Spirit of compassion so that my heart and my actions may radiate your love to all. Amen.