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15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading I: Dt 30:10-14 II: Col 1:15-20

Gospel
Luke 10:25-37

²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
²⁶ He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read?"
²⁷ And he answered, "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; and your neighbor as yourself."
²⁸ And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live."
²⁹ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"
³⁰ Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
³² So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion,
³⁴ and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.'
³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"
³⁷ He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Interesting Details

(vv.25-28) A lawyer was a person who interpreted and taught the Jewish law. Instead answering the lawyer, Jesus turned the question back for the inquirer's own answer.
(v.29) According to the Leviticus text, the neighbor is one's fellow Israelite. In this parable, 'neighbor' is the attitude a person has toward others rather than the blood or social bonding, or physical closeness in locality.
(v.30) The route from Jerusalem to Jericho was a crooked trail descending over 3,000 feet from the green hills around Jerusalem to the desert wilderness below sea level at Jericho. The winding road surrounded by many huge boulders and nearby caves made it a likely place for ambushes by robbers.
(v.32) A Levite assisted the priest in the place of service, taking care of the altarware and providing musical leadership, ushering, and teaching. Originally, the Levites were descendants of Levi, one of the sons of Jacob, and were charged with the care of the sanctuary.
(v.33) The Samaritans were residents of the district of Samaria, located between Galilee and Judea. Because of intermarriages with other nationalities, they were not of pure Jewish blood. They also had a rival place of worship to the Temple in Jerusalem on Mount Gerizim. For these reasons, the Jewish had no dealings with the Samaritans.
(vv.34-37) While the lawyer wants to know who was his neighbor before he loves that person, the Samaritan did just the opposite. Being a Samaritan in Judea, he is in the wrong place and might become the suspect if caught near a victim, and yet he did the unexpected.

One Main Point

Jesus uses this parable to send His powerful message: love all and serve anyone who is in need. This action should not exclude those we are not normally associated with, it may appear to be against the law and we might be blamed for instead of being praised.

Reflections

There are certain people that I would normally avoid being in contact with (people with different political viewpoints, other races, drug users, unkind leaders, unfriendly people, etc.)? Is it because of my fear of being rejected or defeated, or taken advantage of by them, or fear of being misjudged and disrespected by others when I am around these people?
Am I ready to have courage in trying to reach out to everyone and care for those who need help?