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HOMILIES ARCHIVE
HOMILIES
Dear Audience,For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!
Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Year C)
2072
17
0First Reading
A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy (30:10-14)
Moses said to the people: "If only you would heed the voice of the Lord, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this book of the law, when you return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul.
"For this command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you. It is not up in the sky, that you should say, "Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?" Nor is it across the sea that you should say, "Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?" No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out."
(P) The word of the Lord.(R) Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms of David (69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37)
(R) Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.
I pray to you, O Lord, for the time of your favor, O God! In your great kindness answer me with your constant help. Answer me, O Lord, for bounteous is your kindness: in your great mercy turn toward me. (R)
I am afflicted and in pain; let your saving help, O God, protect me. I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving. (R)
"See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts revive! For the Lord hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not." (R)
For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. The descendants of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall inhabit it. (R)
Second Reading
A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians (1:15-20)
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven.
(P) The word of the Lord.(R) Thanks be to God.
Gospel
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (10:25-37)
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."
(P) The Gospel of the Lord.(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Homily
Today's gospel presents a beautiful conversation between a lawyer and Jesus. Five questions were raised in the conversation - two of those were posed by the lawyer and three by Jesus. The lawyer asked Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" The assumption behind this question was that there are actually concrete things that we can do to inherit eternal life. The man perhaps wanted to know the answer to this question, so that he could be certain of his eternal life. What does eternal life mean? Most people think of eternal life as life after death or a never ending life in heaven. But eternal life is more than that.
When the Bible speaks of eternal life, it refers to a free gift of God - a life containing peace, joy, hope, comfort and strength - that is granted to us in abundance here on earth and in heaven after we die. It is a life each one of us can experience here and now, and continue with it after death. Eternal life is part of God's Word. Therefore, as it is written in the Book of Deuteronomy (30:12-14) which we read today in our first reading, eternal life is "not up in the sky... nor it is across the sea... . No, it is something very near to us already in our mouths and in our hearts, we only have to carry out certain things to gain it".
"What must I do to inherit eternal life?" the lawyer asked Jesus. As at other times, with other questions, Jesus replied with another question. Jesus asked him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" The Law refers to hundreds of laws given to the Israelites in the Old Testament times. Sometimes the Law means the whole Old Testament Scriptures. During the time of Jesus, the people used to learn by heart some of the laws and recite them every day in the form of prayers. One such prayer is, "Hear (hebr. shema), O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one", Deuteronomy (6:4).
So knowing the Law of God, the lawyer quoted two commandments or laws, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind", Deuteronomy (6:5), "And your neighbour as yourself", Leviticus (19:18). Jesus replied to him, "You have answered correctly", and then assured him that if He followed the Scriptures He would live. Immediately the lawyer posed a second question. He asked Jesus, "Who is my neighbour?"
Luke writes that the lawyer's first question was intended to "test" Jesus. The purpose was to see how much Jesus knew, and may be, to make Jesus look ignorant. But Jesus' reply put the ball in his court. Now he was being put to the test. In order to avoid an embarrassing situation the lawyer asked the second question about who his neighbour was. He could not ask, "Who is God?" As a scholar of the law he was supposed to know that. He was also supposed to know who his neighbour was. So he asked the second question in an effort to "justify" himself. Jesus responded by telling "The Story of the Good Samaritan".
The story was about a man, most probably a Jew, who had been beaten severely, robbed of all his belongings and left nearly dead beside the road between Jerusalem and Jericho. After a while, a Jewish priest went down the same road. As a religious man, he should have stopped to help the badly injured man. But, instead, he went past. Later, a Levite came along. Levites were assistants to the priests. He also went on without helping the man. A little later a Samaritan man came by. Now let us remember that at the time of Jesus, Samaritans were a racially mixed community with Jewish and pagan ancestry, and were the despised enemies of the Jews. Under the circumstances the Samaritan could have gone on his way and not stopped to help the wounded man. But he stopped to help him. He bandaged his wounds. He put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he could be safe and recover, and paid the innkeeper to take good care of him. He even promised to pay back whatsoever more upon his return.
After telling this story, Jesus turned to the lawyer and asked, "Now which of the three men that passed by was a neighbor to the injured man?" The lawyer was forced to admit that it was "the man who showed mercy," i.e., the Samaritan who treated the injured man, as the neighbor, not his fellow Jews who did nothing to help him. Jesus then said, "Now go and do the same."
What lessons can we learn from this gospel account?
First of all, let us truly love our Lord with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our strength and with all our mind. Let us take the time to worship Him and praise Him. Let us put Him at the top of our list or priorities. Worship is not just what we do in church - prayers and rituals, acts and ceremonies. Let us truly worship God in church and in everyday life regardless of where we are, because we want to worship Him.
Second, let us love our neighbor as ourselves. If the Samaritan could recognize the wounded Jewish man as his neighbor and cared for him, even though he was despised and hated by them, we too should do so. All are our neighbors, because all are God's children, and we must care for and love them just as the Samaritan man did. Jesus did not limit the definition of a neighbor. He expanded it to everyone. A neighbor is anyone whose need we see and are able to meet. A neighbor is anyone who is hurting; anyone who is in distress or danger; anyone in need of basic needs; anyone who needs the saving news of salvation; anyone in need of comfort and hope, anyone who suffers from not only physical illness but also emotional illness and spiritual illness.
Do you know someone who is hurting inside and outside? The person could be in our own families or community or at our work places. Try to help the person to heal the pain. Do you know someone who is hungry? Try to feed the person. Do you know someone who is lost in darkness? That person could be our own brother or sister or parent or even God parent or friend. Try to bring the message of salvation to them. Let us remember that every human being who suffers from not only physical wounding, but also wounds to the spirit and soul is our neighbor. Let our love for God truly manifest in our compassion, in our loving kindness and care for all those who are near and far, our families and friends, and also those who dislike us, hate us and despise us.
(P) Amen.God Bless You!
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