Homily for Ordinary Sunday 15 C

The Samaritan is the despised one who puts himself at risk in coming to the aid of the wounded man. Jesus is already doing likewise. 

I have Mass on Sunday, July 13 at St. Isidore @ 7:30/9:30 am

The 7:30 am Mass is live-streamed https://stisidore.church/worship-online/

Transcript

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke. 

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 other side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the site. 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." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." 

The Gospel of the Lord 

The lawyer wants to know what he must do to inherit eternal life. The question presumes eternal life is a commodity to be inherited or purchased. Our life with God, however, takes place here in the midst of our living. As Moses taught the children of Israel, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts. You have only to carry it out. 

We could translate eternal life as living a righteous life or becoming an insider in the life of God. This is not something that happens after you die. It's an invitation to live now in the kingdom of God. 

Jesus responds with a parable about a traveler who was stripped, beaten, and left half-dead in a ditch. The man had been stripped of anything that might identify him by social class or perhaps even nationality. He has helped simply because he is a person in need. 

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. offered perhaps the best explanation for the refusal of the priest and the Levite to come to the aid of the man in the ditch. "I'm going to tell you what my imagination tells me," King said. "It's possible these men were afraid." And so the first question that the priest and the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But when the good Samaritan came by, he reversed the question, "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" King went on, "If I do not stop to help the sanitation workers, what will happen to them?" King then went to Memphis, and it was there he was assassinated. There are bandits on the road. 

When Jesus began his journey to Jerusalem, he had to pass through Samaria, but they would not welcome him because he was going to Jerusalem. James and John asked Jesus to send down fire to destroy the Samaritans. They assumed that Jesus hated the Samaritans as much as they did. 

We are familiar with a pattern of three. Father, Son, and ...Holy Spirit, Larry, Mo, ...and Curly. Jesus hearers would have expected a priest, a Levite, and a righteous Jew. Instead, they get a Samaritan, a surprising twist. If we were to update this for today, we might get a rabbi, a Christian peacemaker, ...and a Hamas terrorist. 

It cannot be accidental that Jesus has situated the story on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Jericho is a priestly city, and Jerusalem and its temple are all part of the picture. Again and again in the Old Testament, the prophets condemned temple sacrifices that were not accompanied by mercy and love of neighbor. In the words of the prophet Hosea, "I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings." 

Jesus, the meeting place between God and humanity, insists that true worship of God include love of neighbor. "Love one another as I have loved you." The sign of the coming of the kingdom is the gathering of all those who were scattered. For Jesus, apparently, the despised Samaritans are part of the people of God. Jesus refuses to accept the existing separation and hatred between the two groups. 

The priest and the Levite are on their way down from Jerusalem, so they would already have offered sacrifice at the temple. But their worship did not translate into right action. They see the man and pass him by. You can count the verbs yourself, see and pass by. Two verbs each for the priest and the Levi. Whatever else they think, say, have faith in or believe, this is what they actually do. 

The Samaritan, however, count the verbs with me. Comes near the man, sees him, is moved by him, goes to him, bandages his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. He puts the man on his animal, brings him to an inn, takes care of him, takes money out of his pocket, gives it to the innkeeper, and asks the innkeeper to take care of the half-dead man, saying that he will come back and repay whatever more the innkeeper spends. That's a whopping 14 verbs for the Samaritan. 

The Samaritan is the despised one who puts himself at risk in coming to the aid of the wounded man. Jesus is already doing likewise. Like the suffering servant of Isaiah, Jesus will be despised. Nevertheless, he heals the sick, sacrificing himself to save sinners. Jesus is the embodiment of the person that he calls us to be. 

When he came upon the man in the ditch, the Samaritan's heart went out to him. He gave freely of his own resources, making himself neighbor to the man. He's willing to continue caring for him, even though he has no idea where that might end. The Samaritan has discovered what living inside the life of God looks like. 

Which of these three, Jesus asked, was neighbor to the robber's victim? 

The one who treated him with mercy. 

Go and do likewise.