July 14^th 2019.  Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL   Luke 10:25-37

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

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GOSPEL   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 neighbour 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 neighbour?"
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 traveller 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 neighbour to the robbers' victim?"
He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy."
Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

Kieran’s summary . . . Sunday’s Gospel is that of the Good Samaritan. According to the parable, the priest and Levite walk past the wounded man. It is not that they were lazy or just didn’t bother: rather, the Law prohibited them from coming in contact with blood of any sort. Such contact would have excluded them from participation in the cult of the Temple. We see here that a preoccupation with keeping the law can be a cage that prevents us from loving. Moreover, the law is incapable of saving anyone. All the law can do is show us where we have gone wrong. It is like a blood test. It can tell us what is lacking but it cannot solve the problem. The law does not give us the power to overcome sin or heal the wounded. Then the Samaritan comes along. He is willing to make himself impure in order to care for the wounded man. He represents Christ who made himself like us so that he could care for us. Christ transcends the law with love. Love, in fact, is the fulfilment of the law. The Samaritan cures the wounded man with wine and oil, the same wine and oil that the Church will use in the sacraments for the healing of humanity. He takes the man to an inn where he is cared for. This inn is a symbol of the Church which cares for wounded men and women. Later, according to the parable, the Samaritan will return to the inn and pay all the expenses incurred by the wounded man. In the same way, Christ will return to us and repay us for the love and service we have shown to others. He will repay us with paradise.

It was not that the priest and the Levite didn’t bother to reach out to the wounded man; rather, the religious laws forbade them from becoming involved with such a situation

It is important not to read the parable of the good Samaritan in sentimental terms. A man is robbed and beaten on the way to Jericho. As he lies half dead on the road, a passing priest sees him but goes on without stopping to help him. A Levite also passes by and does the same thing. We feel disgust at these attitudes, but why have these two consecrated people refused to help this poor man? It is instructive to note that for priests and Levites it was absolutely forbidden to touch blood. For Judaism, life resides in blood and bloodshed represents death. The Law states that a consecrated person of God must have nothing to do with death and blood. The priest and the Levite were bound to their obligations before the law. If they had touched that man, they would not have been permitted to celebrate the cult unless they had completed a complicated process of purification rites. By touching the man, they would have become incompatible with the Temple and its sacrifices. This is a point worth noting: the religious laws prevented these two men from rescuing the poor man.

The half-dead man represents fallen humanity. The Law (represented by the priest and the Levite) cannot save this man. All the Law can do is show us where we have transgressed. It does not have the power to save us.

But who is this half-dead man? The Fathers of the Church underline the fact that this individual was coming from Jerusalem - the holy city - to Jericho, the city destroyed and cursed by Joshua and rebuilt at the cost of human sacrifices (as told by 1 Kings 16,34) . These two cities are the symbols of heaven and hell. The half-dead man represents humanity that has lost paradise because of sin and who is walking towards the underworld; on the way he is destroyed by the enemies of human nature. The Law, based as it is on rules, cannot save him; all it can do is see him and recognize his plight. All the Law can do is issue a diagnosis. It can say "What you did is wrong", but it cannot save anyone. The Law does not forgive, it just defines and describes. Ironically, Jesus is telling this parable to a lawyer who is ready to quibble and seeks to justify himself.

The Samaritan represents Jesus. He transcends every law and makes himself “impure” in order to take care of us. He tends the sick man with wine and oil, the same wine and oil that the Church will use in the sacraments for the healing of humanity. The inn represents the Church which cares for the wounded men and women of every generation.

Then a Samaritan enters the picture. The Samaritans, for the Jews, were heretics who had distorted the law. It takes a Samaritan to save the half-dead man. He is already an outsider, and he is willing to make himself impure to take care of him. To heal humanity we must obey the rule that transcends every law: love. Love is the full fulfillment of the law, as Saint Paul says. In fact, the rules that are followed to make us feel "right" can become cages that prevent us from loving. The Samaritan does not care about the sacrifices and rituals to be carried out in the Temple, but he has wine and oil to offer this sufferer, the same wine and oil that the Church will use in the sacraments. We need an inn where this Samaritan can bring the wounded men and women of each generation. This inn is the Christian community to which Christ, pure for the impure, entrusts this wounded humanity so that it can be taken care of. And on his return he will bring his reward. This Samaritan will return and repay us the "more" that we have spent in the care of others. And he will give us Heaven.