15th Sunday of Ordinary Times

Our love of God, we learn from today’s Gospel, will be assessed on our attitude towards people. A true religion is a religion of love, not one of mere words. The Samaritan was capable of sharing in God’s compassion for all people. The first reading tells us that the commandments are not imposed from outside but spring from our hearts. The second reading is in line with this theme. Jesus holds the first place in love for his brethren. He was the first authentic “Samaritan”.

           One of the hard lessons in today’s Gospel is, love is not a matter of reaching out to help someone, it’s also a matter of how much you are willing to risk being hurt or letting someone use you or take advantage of you. By law, the priest and levite were doing what the Jewish law required of them if they were going to participate in any religious service. But, Jesus is telling us that love demands stick our necks out and take the risk of being hurt or being used or taken advantage of. Love is measured by what we give, it’s not by the good we get out of what we do. The Good Samaritan may have felt good what he did, or he may have felt burdened by the extra stress and inconvenience this put on him. Jesus doesn’t tell us how the Samaritan felt. He tells us of the good thing he did. Like the beaten one in today’s Gospel story, have you ever been in a dangerous situation and in need of help? How did you feel? Did anyone help you? IF yes; Thank God for this person who has loved you. Never stop being a good person because of bad people. Do the right thing even when no one is looking. It’s called integrity. St. Augustine said, “IF you believe what you like in the Gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.”