15th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Yr C
Deut. 30: 10 – 14; Ps. 68
Col. 1: 15 – 20; Lk 10 : 25- 37
Love, the Way to Eternal Life
Love is the most talked about, the most misused word, most misunderstood word. Yet it seemed to be the core of our human spirit and relationships.
In our gospel Jesus points out to the young lawyer that love is not merely a knowing, but is actually a doing.
When he asked what must I do to inherit internal life? “Jesus asked what is written in the law. He said “you must love the lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind and your neighbour as yourself.” Jesus said Do this and life is yours.
Love is a doing. He then takes a story as to how to Do / Show love to his neighbor. We shall look at three characteristics of love.
Love meets a need (love is discerning)
- Love expresses itself depending on need
For this wounded man, he didn’t need a homily or a preaching. Not even words of encouragement. The demand of love was what the Samaritan did: to touch the man, to bind up his wounds.
To love your neighbor you must discern what his or her need is. It was out of love that Jesus had time for this young man and even told him a story of who a neighbor is and how to show love. Love is not always pleasant. Love can see itself in confronting a person’s sin. Sometimes we must show our love by pointing out wrongs to one another. You may not have a wounded man to bandage, but you have sin to speak against.
- Love Does not Give Excuse nor Judge
Jesus does not tell us why the priest and Levite could not help the man. As we have read that that road is a dangerous one, we can only assume that they too were afraid that it could be a trick or that they were afraid of being ceremonially unclean.
What we know is that there was a Samaritan who helped; who showed love. I am not advocating that we take our safety for granted especially these days where we have kidnapping, but what I would like to put across is this- when we see somebody in real need, we would recognize it. At least, we know of those who have been displaced by flood, we know of orphans.
Love just acts, it does not judge. There has been a long-standing ethnic fued between Samaritans and Jews. Samaritans have been discriminated against as second class citizens. He did not jugde the wounded man for being a Jew. He loved. Because that is what love is. Whether a person is suffering because of his stubbornness or not, love just goes out to help. Mother Teresa says, “if we judge people we have no time to love them”. Love overcomes all kinds of prejudice and labeling.
- Love is Costly
We must know that love is a risk. It would inconvenience you and cost you your comfort. For the Samaritan man, he put the man on his donkey and walked. It cost him money, he paid and promised to pay any further expenses made on the man. I am sure he had to tear part of his own garment to bandage the man.
The Samaritan had to overcome racial prejudice to help the man. They have been considered second class citizens by the Jews for centuries. He has all the right to have hatred and dislike towards the wounded man. He had no reason, incentive or motivation to help this man. But HE DID. That is love. Love must cost you really, even your hatred and bitterness.
Love can cost you your relationship and sometimes even your reputation but that is what it is. Love in action is called compassion. It is interesting to note that even after this example was presented to this young man, he still falls short of the requirement of love. He could not bring himself to mention the Samaritan (Lk10:37); Intense love does not measure, it just gives. – Mother Teresa
By Fr. Delight Arnold Carbonu
