Dt 30:10-14; Ps 19; Col 1:15-20; Lk 10:25-37
Commentary
“Go and Do Likewise.” In the School of Jesus, on our missionary journey, learn to become a compassionate neighbor to all times.
The Gospel with today’s two biblical readings again offers us the opportunity to be in the school of Jesus the Divine Teacher. The Gospel episode actually relate a dialogue in the “scholastic” manner customary in the Judeo-Rabbinic tradition, between a rabbi-leader of the group (who is Jesus in this case) and one of his questioners (who is ironically “a scholar of the [Jewish] Law”). It turns out to be a very interesting conversation to be followed carefully in order to (re)discover the depth of the parable of the Good Samaritan told on the occasion, and especially to refresh some fundamental points for our lives as missionary disciples of Jesus.
1. Human Restlessness for Eternal Life and the Gift of God’s Saving Word
The “scholastic” dialogue starts with a fundamental question with which “a scholar of the law” wanted to “test Jesus”: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Despite the possible provocative intention, the question nevertheless expresses a deep and legitimate restlessness that circulated not only in the debates among the rabbis and generally among Jews in Jesus’ time, but also in the hearts of men and women of all times.
Therefore, with regard to this legitimate “inquiry,” Jesus, in his usual magnanimity, seen before in the face of the rejection of some Samaritans, did not mind the intention of the questioner (to avoid falling into an unnecessary controversy), but entered into the dialogue in order to let God’s authoritative and genuine teaching shine through in everyone, once and for all. Precisely in the style of rabbinical schools, He did not immediately respond with a “prepackaged” answer, but with twocounter-questions: “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” These are two complementary questions: the first concerns the content of God’s teaching (the ‘what’), while the second, even more importantly, concerns the personal interpretation and practice derived from it (the ‘how’).
Jesus’ behavior actually underlines the fundamental theological/spiritual point, as He himself declared, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill” (Mt 5:17).
Therefore, any inquiry about eternal life with God will find its proper and precise answer in the Law, in Hebrew Torah, that is, the Teaching (as a whole), which God gave to Israel on Mount Sinai. It is precisely his revealed Word for salvation, which in its richness, immediacy, and accessibility, is extolled and recommended by God himself through Moses: “For this command which I am giving you today is not too wondrous or remote for you. No, it is something very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart, to do it” (Dt 30:11,14). The Law/Torah is the concrete expression of God’s mercy for His People on the way, His Word that came close to every man and woman pointing out the ways of salvation.
2. Loving God and Neighbor: the Key to Eternal Life
With this in mind, when the scribe recalled the twofold love for God and neighbor, which is recommended in the Law as a necessary condition as well as a foundation for eternal life, Jesus himself said with authority, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” The Word of God in the Law found in Jesus, the incarnate Word of God, confirmation, authoritative interpretation, and its complete fulfillment. Thus, in Jesus’ person and his mission on earth, the Word of God came even closer, more concrete, and more accessible for eternal life. It is indeed neither in heaven nor beyond the sea, but it is “is something very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart.”
Henceforth, we know with certainty that those who practice love for God with their all being, heart, soul, strength, mind, and love of neighbor will have eternal life because, using the inspired words of St. John the Apostle, “God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him”(1Jn 4:16). On the other hand, following the teaching of Jesus, St. Paul the Apostle clearly states, “Love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rm 13:10; cf. Gal 5:14 “For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement, namely, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”) You can continue the sentence by stating that fullness of love is precisely Jesus, because, as we heard in the second reading, “He is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15) and “for in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell”(Col 1:19). Those who love, live like Him, with Him and in Him.
3. “Go and do likewise.” A parable for a Mission that Exceeds All Limits
In the face of Jesus’ clear answer, the reaction of the scribe who wanted to “justify” himself is surprising. Why? (Perhaps for complicating something so simple!). Everything is clear in the twofold commandment of love, but the knot lies in the understanding of the concept of “neighbor,” which in the Law itself means rather “the compatriot (Jew),” one of the same Jewish people or religion. The clarification requested by the scholar of the Law “And who is my neighbor?” has reason to be and, in fact it was also a propitious occasion to receive a revolutionary teaching from Jesus, through the beautiful parable of “the Good Samaritan.”
The man left half-dead described in the parable was most likely a Jew or at any rate certainly not a Samaritan (because he “went down from Jerusalem”). However, that did not stop the Samaritan passerby from having compassion for him and caring for the needy man he met on the road, thus going beyond any existing ethnic or religious separation. Note Jesus’ concluding question: “Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” Jesus does not try to solve the problem, to define “who is my neighbor,” as the scribe asked, but rather points the way to become a neighbor for others in need, without being conditioned by anything!
In fact, it is curious to see that the scholar of the Law in his reply simply noted, “The one who treated him with mercy,” almost as if he wanted to avoid mentioning the Samaritan. Nevertheless, this was enough for Jesus to command him to “Go and do likewise,” to fulfill the commandment of love of neighbor in a genuinely godly way. This perspective then becomes totally universal and then “active,” just like that of the golden rule Jesus himself taught the disciples as a summary of the whole Law and Prophets, “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you” (Mt 7:12)
Reflecting on Christ’s recommendation to the disciples to be his witnesses “to the ends of the earth,” Pope Francis states in his Message for World Mission Sunday of the yera 2022:
No human reality is foreign to the concern of the disciples of Jesus in their mission. Christ’s Church will continue to “go forth” towards new geographical, social and existential horizons, towards “borderline” places and human situations, in order to bear witness to Christ and his love to men and women of every people, culture and social status.
He adds in this regard:
In this sense, the mission will always be missio ad gentes, as the Second Vatican Council taught. The Church must constantly keep pressing forward, beyond her own confines, in order to testify to all the love of Christ. Here I would like to remember and express my gratitude for all those many missionaries who gave their lives in order to “press on” in incarnating Christ’s love towards all the brothers and sisters whom they met.
“Doing likewise,” like the Good Samaritan in the parable, is an authentic following of Jesus, who is the incarnate Word and Compassion of God on mission. It is no coincidence that in Luke’s Gospel, the specific verb “to fill with compassion” (splangchnizomai), in addition to recurring in the parable of the prodigal son to underscore the father’s reaction to seeing his son return (cf. Lk 15:20), is still only used to describe Christ’s own feeling when confronted with the weeping of the widow of Nain at the loss of her only son (cf. Lk 7:13). Therefore, the Tradition of the Church rightly sees in the Good Samaritan the figure of Christ who approached every man and woman to care for them and to give himself for the salvation of all.
Let us therefore pray that all disciples of Christ may continue the mission of their divine Master, especially in these turbulent times when, as Pope Francis says, the Church has now become a “field hospital” in the world. Mary, Mother of Christ, Mother of Mercy and Compassion, pray for us. Amen.
Useful points to consider:
Pope Francis, Encyclical Letter on Fraternity and Social Friendship, Fratelli Tutti
67. The parable eloquently presents the basic decision we need to make in order to rebuild our wounded world. In the face of so much pain and suffering, our only course is to imitate the Good Samaritan. Any other decision would make us either one of the robbers or one of those who walked by without showing compassion for the sufferings of the man on the roadside. The parable shows us how a community can be rebuilt by men and women who identify with the vulnerability of others, who reject the creation of a society of exclusion, and act instead as neighbours, lifting up and rehabilitating the fallen for the sake of the common good. […]
85. For Christians, the words of Jesus have an even deeper meaning. They compel us to recognize Christ himself in each of our abandoned or excluded brothers and sisters (cf. Mt 25:40.45). Faith has untold power to inspire and sustain our respect for others, for believers come to know that God loves every man and woman with infinite love and “thereby confers infinite dignity” upon all humanity. We likewise believe that Christ shed his blood for each of us and that no one is beyond the scope of his universal love. If we go to the ultimate source of that love which is the very life of the triune God, we encounter in the community of the three divine Persons the origin and perfect model of all life in society. Theology continues to be enriched by its reflection on this great truth.
Pope Francis, Address to Participants in the Youth Missionary Conference, promoted by the “Missio” Foundation of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Clementine Hall, Saturday, 23 April 2022
A doctor of the Law asks Jesus: “Who is my neighbour?”, and Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan: a man goes down from Jerusalem towards Jericho and along the way is robbed and beaten by brigands, and is left half dead at the roadside.
Unlike two ministers of worship, who see him but walk on by, a Samaritan, that is, a stranger to the Jews of the time, who did not have much friendship with them, stops and takes care of him. And he does so intelligently: he gives him first aid to the extent that he can, then he takes him to an inn and pays the owner so that he can be looked after for the next few days. A few brushstrokes to describe another aspect of the mission, namely the second verb: to care. That is, to live charity in a dynamic and intelligent way. […] How many “Good Samaritan” missionaries have lived the mission by caring for their wounded brothers and sisters along the way! Following in their footsteps, with a style and manner suited to our times, it is now your turn to carry out a discreet and effective charity, an imaginative and intelligent charity, not episodic but continuous over time, capable of accompanying people on their journey of healing and growth.
Pope Francis, General Audience, Wednesday, 27 April 2016
“Compassion” is an essential characteristic of God’s mercy. God has compassion on us. What does this mean? He suffers with us, he feels our suffering. Compassion means “suffer with”. The verb indicates that the physique is moved and trembles at the sight of the evil of man. In the gestures and deeds of the Good Samaritan we recognize the merciful acts of God in all of salvation history. It is the same compassion with which the Lord comes to meet each one of us: He does not ignore us, he knows our pain, he knows how much we need help and comfort. He comes close and never abandons us. […]
This parable is a splendid gift for us all, and also a task! To each of us Jesus repeats what he said to the doctor of the Law: “Go and do likewise” (v. 37). We are all called to follow the same path of the Good Samaritan, who is the figure of Christ: Jesus bent down to us, he became our servant, and thus he has saved us, so that we too might love as he loved us, in the same way.