15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

My dear parishioners,

God is Good!!!  All the time!!!  And all the time!!!  God is Good!!!

In this book, Moses has one last opportunity to instruct the people of Israel. They will soon cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Moses wants to make sure they know exactly how to conduct themselves once they return to their homeland.

 

All along the journey from Egypt, the tribes of Israel experienced God’s protective love for them. God nourished them in miraculous ways; God protected them from any danger. The commandments and statutes written in the book of the law offer them plenty of guidelines to make sure this saving relationship with God remains intact. If they honor the terms of their covenant with God, they will be safe and secure in the land of Canaan. Moses places a high standard before them. He challenges them to be wholly devoted to God. Any compromise could put things in jeopardy. They cannot risk allowing the illusions of this world to in any way replace God in their lives. Idolatry will render them vulnerable to much harm.

 

The standard Moses requires of them seems unrealistic. How can they possibly remain so undivided in their devotion to God? Moses offers them assurance. The law of God is neither too mysterious nor too remote. It would be so if someone had to go up to the sky or cross the waters of the sea to get it. But the law is not so apart from them; it is already inside of them. The book of the law comes from their Creator, who knows quite well what they are capable of. God’s law is entirely compatible with their nature because they are fashioned in God’s image and likeness.

 

The context for today’s Gospel is a scholar of the law of Moses, attempting to test Jesus and challenge his knowledge and interpretation of the law. The story that Jesus tells focuses on the question of who qualifies as a legitimate neighbor. The answer is both shocking and challenging.

 

Who is my neighbor? This is the question that the scholar of the law asks Jesus. Jesus responds with a story about a Jewish man who was mugged, stripped, and left half-dead along the Jerusalem/Jericho road. This was a particularly harsh mugging in that the victim was stripped of his clothing, leaving him without any identifying items. He is totally helpless and halfdead. A priest and a Levite come close to the injured person but, for whatever reasons, they fail to stop and help him. They were Jews but certainly not neighborly. In good storytelling, the third possibility often offers the solution. Everyone would be listening attentively to find out who the third person might be.

 

Excerpts from “Sunday Homily Helps”, is used by permission of Franciscan Media. www.FranciscanMedia.org. All rights reserved

 

Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Aloysius