From pastor’s desk in the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year C
This Sunday we meditate on the passage from the gospel of Saint Luke, which presents to us the parable of the Good Samaritan. This is probably the most well-known parable of all, even to the non-Christian world. The phrase Good Samaritan has become a saying that indicates a person who knows how to selflessly help others without looking for any gain, but by simply showing concern for the well-being of another person in need. Jesus’s parable is directed to us all and is intended to open our hearts for other human beings, despite their socio-economic or moral status. Jesus wants us to have the eyes to see all those around us who are destitute and in desperate need of help. Our Lord Jesus appeals to the deepest layers of the human heart while portraying an example of an authentic, loving and kind man, who knows how to, and is not afraid to, help his neighbor in need.
Although we tend to think that this parable applies only to our mere human situations, it also reveals truth about the mission of Jesus Christ. Right from the beginning of Christianity, the Church Fathers interpreted the parable's deeper meaning recognizing Christ in the person of the Good Samaritan and the entirety of humanity as a man who prey to the hands of robbers. Yes, it is all of us, all human beings, who after the original sin and after falling into subsequent sins, are now lying by the roadside and waiting for a Samaritan—Jesus Himself—to be rescued and cared for by the Divine Healer. The robbers are the devils who do not care for the human soul, but want to ravage humanity and even leave it dead by the “roadside” of the world.
The truth about humanity is that after the first fall there was no one capable to rescue us except for Jesus, who is our Lord and Savior. As in the parable, neither the priest, who represented the worship in the Temple of Jerusalem, nor the Levite, representing the Law of Moses, could see the man in dire straits. They were blind to the human condition affected by the evil men. They could not see the wounded man because they had not received the spirit of Jesus yet. Only Jesus could step down from the heavens in order to become one of us and to save us. It is only Jesus who was capable to step down to the realm of the dead and bring the fallen man—in fact, the entire human race—to life again. Not only that, Jesus also left the means to cure the man completely and paid the price to the innkeeper. Our Lord Jesus paid for us the price with His Precious Blood on the Cross and left us in the Inn of the Universal Church, in which we find the necessary medicaments—the sacraments—for the cure of our wounded humanity.
With His very life, our Lord Jesus set up an example of how to love and how to help. I am sure we ask these questions ourselves too: How to help? Whom to help? — These are the dilemmas that many of us have while trying to reach out to others when they seek our support. Although we are all called to serve one another, it is not easy to help in a meaningful way. It is often much easier to give a couple of dollars to homeless man in the street than to talk to him. It is almost certain that most of us want to leave as soon as possible so not to be bothered. In addition, we already might have had a negative experience when someone lied to us or “abused” our “generosity” for a purpose other than initially declared by the person in need.
Unfortunately, our hearts are very often too harden. Too often we get used to luxury, convenience, and may be even embarrassed when we have to get out of our comfort zone. We may be even surrounded by human misery and poverty and choose not to see it, for it is too challenging to us. Hence, this parable of Jesus is directed exactly to us. Our Lord Jesus wants us to leave our comfort zones like He did. Let us pray that we may have generous hearts and courage to reach out to those who may need our help.
I wish you all blessed week. Fr. Janusz Mocarski, pastor