C cycle -15th Sunday July 11 2010
I am going to begin with Jeopardy today! I am asking you one question.
Married life is very interesting, exciting, enriching, or frustrating. What is your answer? Think for yourselves! In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens.
In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens.
In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen. It is about relationship and friendship which could be exciting, interesting, frustrating or enriching.
One of the characteristic of human life is relationship. There are contractual relationships, familial relationships, relationships with friends and obligatory relationships such as our relationships within society. But unlike our society today, the people of Israel lived in a society in which their relationship with God the Father was the most primary relationship. Their personal, political, economic, social and foreign relationships were determined by their Covenant relationship with God. Moreover, they knew that only a genuine relationship with God could guarantee them peaceful living within their family, their neighbors and other nations around them. If we are to take today’s first reading seriously then the lesson is this: that the basis for sound relationships is first and foremost a genuine relationship with God. And that is why the book of Deuteronomy says, “If only you would heed the voice of the Lord, your God… with all your heart and your soul.” There are two parts to this injunction. First, “If only you would heed the voice of the Lord, your God….” In other words, take a person whose relationships are in shambles. Most often one will find in him or her a broken relationship with God. On the other hand if a person’s relationship with God is genuine his other relationships will for most part be sound. Second, the injunction requires us to heed the voice of God “…with all your heart and your soul.” In other words, our relationship with God needs to be a genuine, heartfelt relationship for it to affect all our other relationships positively.
The gospel reading gives us an example of a person who fulfilled the first part of the injunction but lacked in the latter part of it. We must commend him for being the kind of person who asked the right questions. Thus in today’s gospel reading he asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” As a devout Jew, Jesus led him to the Law. Moreover, the scholar knew the law. He said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, with your entire mind, and your neighbor as yourself. Jesus commended him for his knowledge. But the scholar exposed his weakness when he asked Jesus a further question: “And who is my neighbor?” My interpretation of this question is that he knew the Law but lacked in the “genuine” practice of it. Intellectually he knew the Law but he lacked in “genuine” love of God. By giving the sermon of the Good Samaritan, Jesus was merely taking the scholar to a deeper understanding of the Law and love of God.
Let me offer three practical implications from today’s reflection.
1. In response to the scholar’s second question Jesus delivered what is commonly known as the ‘parable of the Good Samaritan.’ The point to remember is that this parable is unlike other parables. It is not an allegory, neither is it an analogy. It does not require extraordinary interpretations. The message is plain and simple. The question is not; “who is my neighbor?” rather, the real question is “Who isn’t my neighbor?” As far as Jesus is concerned then, the lesson for us is plain; if our relation with God is genuine, if we do love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, then, it must show into our relationship with others, especially those who are helpless. Without this our faith is God is hypocritical.
2. Today’s readings lead us to evaluate our other relationships. Relationships are delicate things. Whether, it is the relationship with your spouse, or parents or children or relatives and friends, they need to be handled carefully. Not all our relationships can be equally good. If our relationship with those who matter to us is strained, the first relationship to evaluate is our relationship with God. It is often ingenuity in our relationship with God that creates ingenuity in our relationship with others. If we love God with all our heart, all our soul and all our strength, then as Jesus suggest, it will help our relationship with others as well.
3. Relationships are no mean things; they are the key to eternal life. When the scholar asked Jesus the question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answer, was “Love.” Love God and love our neighbor – that is the key to eternal life. In other words, the key to enter eternal life is right relationships – with God, others, and self. The readings then encourage us to take our relationships very seriously. It does not mean that we do not have differences of opinions or disagree about issues. It does mean that we do give every human relationship its true human dignity. The parable of the Good Samaritan covers sins such as slander, malice, revenge, hatred, prejudice and jealously. The parable of the Good Samaritan is not just about doing good; it is also about avoiding the harm we can do to others, both sins of omission and commission.
There is a reason why we wish peace to our neighbors during the Eucharist. On the one hand only a right relationship with God can ensure right relationships with others. On the other, only right relationships with others can ensure a right relationship with God. Let symbolic peace today be our sincere resolve to be Good Samaritans. This mass is a celebration of God’s love which enables us to love one another we shall continue to pray to God for the grace. Amen.
