Gathered together each weekend in our parish church we look around and see our neighbors, family, and friends. Many of them are people very much like ourselves. The neighbor in today’s Gospel, the good Samaritan, is not. Samaritans were seen as outcasts by the Jewish people who frequented the road from Jerusalem to Jericho. Yet it was this foreigner, this outsider, this stranger, who is the true neighbor to the Jewish man who fell victim to the robbers.
After Moses enjoined the Chosen People to keep the Lord’s commandments, he points out that these laws are not hidden in the heavens or beyond the edge of the sea. No, the law to love God and neighbor was written right in their hearts, the words right on their lips. So too for us. The law of love is not beyond our reach, for it was planted in us in baptism. We know what we should do; and we rely upon God’s grace in following through. May hearing this parable expand our understanding of “neighbor” as it moves our hearts to reach out to those in need. May today’s readings inspire us to accept the challenge to treat all others, friend or stranger, as worthy of our love.
Love, Peace, Joy,
Fr. Bob
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