27Week in ordinary time
Gospel: Lk 10: 25-37
DOING THE WILL OF GOD: In the first reading, we can clearly see that we cannot run away from doing the Will of God. Jonah tried to avoid going to Nineveh but the ship faced turmoil until he had to accept to be thrown into the sea. He believed that it was because of his disobedience. Even the other passengers believed that Jonah had disobeyed the Will of God. In the Gospel, Jesus commands the scholar of law to ‘Go and do likewise’. Jesus uses the example of the Good Samaritan to demonstrate that we may have duties assigned to us by religion, but the Will of God comes first. He commands us to love God and our neighbors and through this, we shall be doing His will. May we try to grasp the importance of this great teaching.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to do your will.
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WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? Jesus responds by giving the story of a Samaritan who sees, hears, and moves to act. He reaches out to one who is so abandoned, that even a stranger can identify him so sprawled in a ditch. The Samaritan “…lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him” (Luke 10: 34). This Samaritan was an outsider and familiar with insults; people moving away to avoid contact. It is not a surprise that he knows rejection all too well, and is ready to open his doors to the abandoned; suffering and injustice are real to him. As our moral imagination grows, the situation of those at a distance should become more. When children fleeing from violence show up at our border, we must find ways to help. God says: you will find me in the poor. By giving this parable, Jesus invites us to do the same as the Samaritan did. We should never ask who is my neighbour since we are all brothers and sisters in Christ; we have the same Father in heaven.
DAILY GOSPEL 