Monday,
October 03, 2016
27th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Gal 1: 6-12
Gospel: Luke 10:25-37
A teacher of the Law came and began putting Jesus to the test. And he said, “Master, what shall I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What is written in the Scripture? How do you understand it?” The man answered, “It is written: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus replied, “What a good answer! Do this and you shall live.” The man wanted to keep up appearances, so he replied, “Who is my neighbor?”
Jesus then said, “There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
“It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side. Like wise a Levite saw the man and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, too, was going that way, and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion. He went over to him and treated his wounds with oil and wine and wrap ped them with bandages. Then he put him on his own mount and brought him to an inn where he took care of him.
“The next day he had to set off, but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper and told him: ‘Take care of him and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I come back.’”
Jesus then asked, “Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The teacher of the Law answered, “The one who had mercy on him.” And Jesus said, “Go then and do the same.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
If the priest and the Levite were on their way to preside over a sacrificial offering, then they had reason to evade helping the victim. The law on ritual purity provided that contact of a dead person renders one unfit for worship. They even deserved commendation for not taking chances on the man whose vital status they weren’t sure about. But this is beside the point. The purpose of the parable is not to challenge the law on ritual purity but to declare love as the highest law. It is even higher than faith. “Even if I have the faith enough to move mountains but fail to love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2). It is even higher than hope. St. Paul wrote: “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love”. While the Levite and the priest could find justification in the law on ritual purity, they merit condemnation under the law of love. (1 Cor. 13:13). – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM, MMExM, MAPM, REB. Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com.
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