Our Sunday gospel reading today is a very familiar story to most Christians as it is the story of the Good Samaritan. But it is so sad that many Christians today do not practice what our Lord Jesus Christ has taught us in showing Mercy to others. But it is our duty to continue telling this marvelous story in the hope that it would touch the hearts of our fellow Catholics. You can read this story in 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? 26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” 27 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.” 28 he replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
29 But because he wanted to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped him and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
32 Likewise, a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. 33 But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. 34 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.
35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instructions, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.” 36 Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robber’s victim?” 37 He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
In the first part of our gospel story the scholar asked our Lord Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life? The Lord Jesus merely asked him back what does the law say? The scholar immediately recited the “Shema” which every devout Jew prays when he wakes up in the morning and prays before he goes to bed as his declaration of faith. In Hebrew the scholar recited the prayer, “Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad” which is translated in English as “Hear, O Israel; the Lord is our God, the Lord is One”. Jews today still pray the Shema, as it is the first prayer that a Jewish child is taught and the Shema is the last prayer of a dying Jew.
But the Shema is merely an act of faith to show our faithfulness to God. Hence the scholar wanted to know more… perhaps to make sure that he would merit salvation and in response, our Lord Jesus gave him the parable of the Good Samaritan. Surely there must be a reason why our Lord chose a priest, a Levite and a Samaritan. We already wrote about how Jews detested Samaritans and would not even go near them and likewise the Samaritans equally hated the Jews.
So as the story goes, a man was victimized and mangled by robbers and left to die on the road. The first to come along was a Jewish priest who crossed to the other side of the road to get away from him. Jewish priests (they are called Kohein) are descendants of Aaron and thus perform various religious rituals and sacrifices in the temple, while a Rabbi is simply a teacher who is educated in the Torah. The priest tried to avoid the man on the road because if the man were dead, the priest might be defiled. Priests have to be ritually clean and cannot risk defilement.
The priest is followed by a Levite, which in Jewish religion are the firstborn sons who were designated as the Holy Tribe of Levi who serve in the temple and the tabernacle. They are the spiritual leaders of Judaism. Although they were not considered as priests, they actually occupied a higher position, hence they too could not risk defilement if they touched a dead man. So in a way, our Lord Jesus Christ who was also a Jew did not chastise the priest and the Levite for following the law prescribed by Moses.
However he used a Samaritan man to make a point that it was the hated Samaritan who showed an act of mercy towards the victim. He not only helped clean his wounds, he went out of his way to bring him to an inn and paid for all the expenses. In this parable, our Lord is telling us that helping the needy, the sick or those who have been victimized was more important than the rituals in the Temple.
In today’s scenario, you are on your way to church, when you see a man lying wounded on the road. It is your Christian duty to bring him not to a hotel or an inn, but to the nearest hospital. But you missed going to Church, but your actions are more than enough to justify you. After all our Lord Jesus Christ said, “I desire Mercy.” Mercy in the eyes of God is an act of love. Hence your action speaks louder than your words. God Bless You!