Who Is My Neighbor?

07-10-2022Weekly ReflectionFr. James Aboyi, VC

In the parable of the Good Samaritan that we heard in the Gospel today is one of the most popular stories in the Bible. I read that the United States and many countries in the world have some form of a law called “The Good Samaritan Law.” These laws are focused on the obligation to help someone in urgent need while legally protecting the helper, or “good samaritan.”

Jesus’ response to this lawyer, in the light of Moses’ instructions in the first reading, draws our attention to two main lessons: The first is about our willingness to love and help others unconditionally, especially when we stand to gain nothing in return. The second is the need to pay attention to the “heart of the law” rather than the “letter of the law” when reaching out to those in need.

As background, the Jews considered the Samaritans as their national enemies at the time of Jesus. We are told that a priest and a Levite passed by, but did not help the dying man. Perhaps they were on their way to the Temple worship, in which case they felt justified for not helping because they were observing the Torah that forbids them from touching a dead body. In other words, they were following the letter of the law. The Samaritan, on the other hand, simply followed the law that was written in his heart. He broke through the wall of prejudice within his heart to help his enemy who is in need. In doing this, he fulfilled what Jesus commands us to do when he says we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Mt 5:43-46).

In the first reading, Moses reminded the people (and all of us) that we do not need to worry about remembering the letter of the law of God, but to follow the law that is written in our heart, which is love. It is the summary of the law and the commandments. Similarly, Jesus reminds us today that our neighbors are not just people who live in our neighborhood, but anyone in need of our help.

In the past two weeks, we literally saw the story of the Good Samaritan replayed in our lives. We heard about some of our neighbors, the unborn children in danger of death, and the effort of some “Good Samaritans” in our country to save their lives. We also heard about the new “priests and Levites” who appealed to the letter of the civil law and science to justify their reasons why unborn infants should be left alone to die by the “roadside.” Are we Samaritans or priests/Levites on this issue? Let us remember what Jesus himself did for us: He gave his life to save us when our eternal life was at stake. He invites us to do something to protect the helpless and to speak for the voiceless in our society if we are truly his followers.

Fr. James

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