20190714 FINDING LIFE BY BEING A NEIGHBOUR TO OTHERS
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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Deuteronomy
30:10-14 ©
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The Law is not beyond your
strength or beyond your reach
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Moses said to
the people: ‘Obey the voice of the Lord your God, keeping those commandments
and laws of his that are written in the Book of this Law, and you shall return
to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.
‘For this Law that I enjoin on you today is not beyond
your strength or beyond your reach. It is not in heaven, so that you need to
wonder, “Who will go up to heaven for us and bring it down to us, so that we
may hear it and keep it?” Nor is it beyond the seas, so that you need to wonder,
“Who will cross the seas for us and bring it back to us, so that we may hear it
and keep it?” No, the Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your
heart for your observance.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm
68(69):14,17,30-31,33-34,36-37 ©
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Seek the
Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive
This is my
prayer to you,
my
prayer for your favour.
In your great
love, answer me, O God,
with
your help that never fails:
Lord, answer,
for your love is kind;
in
your compassion, turn towards me.
Seek the
Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive
As for me in my
poverty and pain
let
your help, O God, lift me up.
I will praise
God’s name with a song;
I
will glorify him with thanksgiving.
Seek the
Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive
The poor when
they see it will be glad
and
God-seeking hearts will revive;
for the Lord
listens to the needy
and
does not spurn his servants in their chains.
Seek the
Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive
For God will
bring help to Zion
and
rebuild the cities of Judah
and
men shall dwell there in possession.
The sons of his
servants shall inherit it;
those
who love his name shall dwell there.
Seek the
Lord, you who are poor, and your hearts will revive
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Second reading
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Colossians
1:15-20 ©
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All things were created
through Christ and for Christ
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Christ Jesus is
the image of the unseen God
and the
first-born of all creation,
for in him were
created
all things in
heaven and on earth:
everything
visible and everything invisible,
Thrones,
Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers –
all things were
created through him and for him.
Before anything
was created, he existed,
and he holds all
things in unity.
Now the Church
is his body,
he is its head.
As he is the
Beginning,
he was first to
be born from the dead,
so that he
should be first in every way;
because God
wanted all perfection
to be found in
him
and all things
to be reconciled through him and for him,
everything in
heaven and everything on earth,
when he made
peace
by his death on
the cross.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Jn10:27
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
The sheep that
belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and
they follow me.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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cf.Jn6:63,68
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
Your words are
spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the
message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke
10:25-37 ©
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The good Samaritan
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There was a
lawyer who, to disconcert Jesus, stood up and said to him, ‘Master, what must I
do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? What
do you read there?’ He replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and
your neighbour as yourself.’ ‘You have answered right,’ said Jesus ‘do this and
life is yours.’
But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to
Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was once on his way
down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands; they took
all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead. Now a priest
happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he
passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw
him, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan traveller who came upon
him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up and bandaged his wounds,
pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him on to his own mount, carried
him to the inn and looked after him. Next day, he took out two denarii and
handed them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said “and on my way back I
will make good any extra expense you have.” Which of these three, do you think,
proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands‘ hands?’ ‘The
one who took pity on him’ he replied. Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same
yourself.’
14 JULY, 2019, Sunday, 15th Week, Ordinary Time
FINDING LIFE BY BEING A NEIGHBOUR TO OTHERS
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Dt 30:10-14; Ps 69 OR Ps 19 ; Col 1:15-20; LK 10:25-37]
It is
ironical that today many of us have a higher standard of education, faster and
more effective means of communication, and a higher standard of living, yet the
goal of finding happiness in life seems to be illusory. This desire for
happiness is implanted in our hearts. No one can live without
happiness. But where do we look for happiness? This is the question
that the scribe asked the Lord, “Master, what must I do to inherit eternal
life?” This was a similar question posed to the Lord by the rich man as
well. “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
(Mk 10:17)
It is
significant that both the scribe and the rich man were asking the same question
and both seem to know the answer. The scribe was an interpreter of the scriptures. He
knew all the laws that could bring him eternal life. Surely he would have
understood more than anyone else the laws of Moses. Indeed, he even summarised
the essence of the Law when the Lord asked him, “What is written in the Law?
What do you read there?” He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,
and your neighbour as yourself.” So, too, was the reply of the rich man,
“Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth” when Jesus said to him,
“You know the commandments: You shall not murder; You shall not commit
adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not
defraud; Honor your father and mother.”
We, too, are
like them. We think we have the answers to the meaning of life. Many of us have tried
to follow the laws but we have found them burdensome and they appear to prevent
us from living life to the fullest. Deep in our hearts, we want to rebel
against the commandments of God. We feel that some of the commandments
are taking away our freedom and our joy in life. And even if we try to
practise them, we become grumpy, envious of others who do not have a religion
and could do whatever they like, or we simply cannot keep the commandments
because of human weakness. So knowing the commandments does not
necessarily give us life or give us the capacity to keep them.
What is the
answer to the meaning of life? The answer is found not in the laws but in
the Law which is this, “You must love the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and
your neighbour as yourself.” Jesus said, “Do this and life is yours.”
Loving God, self and neighbour is the key to fullness of life. Yet, these
three aspects of love, whilst distinguished, cannot be separated. This is
the crux of the solution to finding happiness in life if we hold all these
three dimensions of love together. When we separate or compartmentalized
these three-faceted love, we find ourselves incomplete in love and therefore in
happiness.
This was the
weakness or misunderstanding of the scribe. He loved God, but he lacked
love for his neighbour. He was a man who was imbued with the Word of God. He
studied the laws and sought to meticulously observe the laws. He loved
the Law above all other things. He was akin to the priest and the Levite
who saw the wounded man on the roadside hanging on to his life, and “passed by
on the other side.” Strictly speaking, they were not wrong. They
were simply being obedient to the laws. The priest was observing what the
law of Moses dictated, “He shall not go where there is a dead body; he shall
not defile himself even for his father or mother.” (Lev 21:1a) “Those who touch the dead
body of any human being shall be unclean seven days.” (Num 19:11) So they were in fact putting
the worship of God before man, which is required by the Law. So
there seems to be a dichotomy here.
The crux of
today’s gospel is whether we can truly claim that we love God when we close our
hearts to the sufferings of our neighbours. St John wrote, “Those who say,
‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who
do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they
have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love
God must love their brothers and sisters also.” (1 Jn 4:20f) St James wrote, “You do well
if you really fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love
your neighbor as yourself.'” (Jms 2:8)
Indeed, the
only way to show our love for God is to love our neighbours. God is found in our
neighbours, especially those who are in need. He is identified with every
man because we are all created in the image and likeness of God. In the
second reading we read that “Christ Jesus is the image of the unseen God and
the first-born of all creation” and also that “the Church is his body, he is
its head.” Christ reveals to us the image of God in His very life of love
and compassion, forgiveness and mercy for His fellowmen. We too who are
called to be His body, are therefore to love our neighbours as well because we
are all parts of His one body and He is the Head. So to love Christ is to
love our neighbours. Having reverence for the Holy Eucharist but not
having regard for the sufferings of our brothers and sisters contradicts what
the Eucharist really is, the body of Christ. When one of Mother Teresa’s
nuns came back from helping the sick in one of the houses, Mother Teresa asked
her what she did all day. Her reply was, “I spent three hours with
Jesus!”
To love our
neighbour is really to love ourselves. A person is alive only when he or
she feels the humanity within him or her. We are very much ourselves
when we learn to feel with others. Compassion is when one is able to
identify with the sufferings of one’s fellowmen. Compassion is only
possible when we make the sufferings of others our own. That is why, when
there is compassion, we do not judge a person. We feel the pain and
sufferings of our fellowmen and there is this instinct to alleviate their
sufferings as if they are ours. It is when we feel with others, we become
united to them in their pain and suffering. We share their pain and when
they are uplifted, we also share their joys as well. In sharing their
sorrows and joys, we become one with our brothers and sisters. This makes
us human and gives us a joy that money cannot buy. To know that we can
make a difference in the lives of others, to give them hope, encouragement,
relief or to help them to smile and make their day, gives us a joy that only
sincere love and compassion can bring.
This is the
law of love written in our hearts, as Moses said in the first reading. “For this Law that I
enjoin on you today is not beyond your strength or beyond your reach. No,
the Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your
observance.” God has created us for love. Without love, we are
nothing. To love does not mean to love oneself selfishly and in a
self-centred way. The best way to love oneself is to love others, for by
loving others, our love and joy is multiplied. When we love ourselves
selfishly, that love will not bring life but only death. It might bring
pleasure but it cannot bring joy.
What about
loving God first as a commandment? If we love God and worship
Him, it is only so that we can experience His love, be empowered by His love
for us so that we can imitate Him in love. Again St John makes it clear
when he wrote, “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and
sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God
loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen
God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in
us.” (1 Jn 4:10-12) For
this same reason, it is important that those who do social work or any form of
apostolate, must always come to the Lord to be strengthened in love before we can
go out to proclaim His love. Otherwise, using our own strength alone,
will lead us to frustration when we face difficulties and trials.
So if we want
to live the fullness of life, what must we do? There is a reversal of
understanding of who is the neighbour at the end of the gospel. The scribe asked
Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?” At the end of the parable, Jesus asked him,
“Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who
fell into the brigands’ hands?’ ‘The one who took pity on him,’ he replied.
Jesus said to him, ‘Go, and do the same yourself.'” The neighbour turned out to
be the Samaritan, not the wounded man! In other words, instead of looking
out for a wounded man to come before us so that we can help him, we are called
to be a neighbour to everyone who comes our way. We must
proactively be a neighbour to others by accepting and caring for them, near and
far. It could be your elderly at home, your friend at school, a colleague
at work. The question, therefore, is not “who is your neighbour?’
but “are you a neighbour?” If we make ourselves a neighbour to others
then life is ours!
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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