THE CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING OF A NEIGHBOUR (HOMILY FOR THE 15TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME YEAR C

THE CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING OF A NEIGHBOUR

HOMILY FOR THE 15TH SUNDAY IN THE ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C 

Deuteronomy 30:10-14, Colossians 1:15-20, Luke 10:25-73

Brothers and sisters in Christ, central to today's liturgy of the word is the parable of the good Samaritan. A parable that evokes substantive questions such as: who exactly is my neighbour? Why on earth would the religious leaders, custodians and teachers of the scriptural values e.g Priest and Levite, pass by the afflicted without being moved with compassion? How come the samaritan, ignorant of the scripture, yet understood better the core values of the scripture? Etc

We are told that there was a lawyer whose sole purpose was to disconcert Jesus; hence, posed a question to him: “Master what must I do to inherit eternal life? In response, Jesus demanded from him the content of the Law. The man answered, subscribing to the scripture: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, Leviticus 19:18). Jesus acknowledge his response as correct and charged him to do this in other to gain eternal life (Lk 10:25-28). However, being a lawyer and desirous for clarity asked, “And who is my neighbour?”. Ordinarily, a neighbour by definition is “a person who lives near or next to another”. This definition outrightly excludes a stranger who does not live nearby. Consequently, in other to alleviate this lawyer from a misconstrued and limited understanding of whom a neighbour is, Jesus decided to narrate the parable of the good Samaritan.

He said, “a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, and went away, leaving him half dead” (Lk 10:30). Critically, looking location the unnamed man was proceeding from, he was probably a Jew, who may have had his religious devotion at the temple and is returning home alone. He may have finished late. Consequently, the reason for being alone on the journey. This is the more reason why the response of the Samaritan (a non-jew) needs to be appreciated. In this context, this unnamed man (stranger) could be any human being, every human being and all human beings All those who are in a state of misery, suffering, anguish, discomfort and sorrow etc, are either birthed by their own mistakes or were inflicted upon by another.

The narrative continued, “by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So also a Levite, when he came to that place and saw him, passed by on the other side” (Lk 10:31-32). Scholars have argued that the probable reason why the priest and the Levite acted otherwise was because of their liturgical function in the temple. For the performance of the obligatory ritual, they were forbidden to come into contact with a human corpse otherwise will be declared impure. So much so that they need to be sprinkled with water from the red heifer, to become ritually pure again. Hence, the Priest and Levite may have asked themselves the question: 'what will happen to me if I stop?'

Progressively, a Samaritan, while travelling along the same route came near him. “When he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him, bandaged his wounds, and poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him” (Lk 10:33-34). Unlike the Priest and the Levite, the Samaritan may have asked the question: 'what will happen to him if I don't stop?'. Remember the religious tension and intolerance that exist between the Jews and the Samaritans. Yet this Samaritan even in his state of Poverty, unlike the Priest and Levite who may not have known poverty, was charitable, compassionate and kind to the stranger, for we are told he had only two denarii (Lk 10:35). Compassion comes from the Latin word, 'misericordia': 'miseris' (the poor) and 'Cordia' (hearts) meaning 'hearts given to the poor. 

Let us not forget the character of the innkeeper, who took care of him notwithstanding the delayed payment (Lk 10:35). The innkeeper never objected nor argued, rather devoted his profession firstly, to the care of the sick. The innkeeper represents all our medical practitioners who had resolved by the profession of the Hippocratic oath to care significantly for the sick as a priority.

The final question of Jesus to the lawyer and his response, manifested that the lawyer has gained a comprehensive understanding of whom a neighbour is: which of the three do you think proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the brigands? The lawyer responded to the one who took pity on him”. Jesus, hence recommended to the lawyer, go and do the same yourself" (Lk 10:36-37). The lawyer came to the conclusion that a neighbour by definition is not limited to those next to you but all those whom we consider strangers, not minding their locations, all those who are in the state of suffering and pain and those who are compassionate in heart towards the needy. 

Beloved in Christ, on a deeper note, Jesus is the 'Good Samaritan par excellence, for the parable fits into the personality of Jesus. He is the saviour of humanity found half-dead on the journey. He stopped by and nursed our wounds. On the cross of cavalry, with his blood, he paid the price for our sins and freed us from the shackles of death and the evil one, so that we may be spiritually healthy again, to walk the journey of holiness that leads to eternal life.

Beloved in Christ, through Our Lord Jesus Christ, we have been redeemed and set in the church to continue this act of compassion to our dear neighbours who are suffering and are in a state of anguish. We must do as the good Samaritan, we must prove ourselves to be neighbours to the suffering people. Words of sympathy aren't enough. We must accompany them with action. The word of God tells us that it is not those who say to me, Lord Lord that will enter the kingdom of God but those who do the will of God (Mt 7:21). Let our respective professions be opportunities for us to help alleviate the sufferings of humanity and make the presence of God known to them in their challenges in life.

May the grace of God accompany us as we submit ourselves for the total interest of Jesus day after day.

Happy Sunday to you all!

Fr Remi osj