“And who is my neighbor?”
july 13, 2025 | 15th sunday in ordinary time, Year C
Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Psalm 69; Colossians 1: 15-20; Luke 10:25-37
In a world more and more characterized by indifference, individualism, greed, selfishness, prejudices, tribal and ethnic and inter-state violence and wars, today’s Gospel reflects on the famous story of a man who fell victim to robbers and was beaten, stripped and left half dead. The priest and the Levite saw the man but passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler came upon the man and was moved with compassion. He transcended the religious, social and cultural barriers; took care of the victim and treated him with mercy. Who is the man left half dead? Who is my neighbor?
The Samaritan, the unlikely neighbor
The Samaritan was the least likely person to be a neighbor. Jews hated Samaritans due to religious and ethnic differences, coupled with historical tensions. Samaritans were seen as a mixed-ancestry group with a heretic form of worship distinct from mainstream Judaism. (2 Kings 17:24-41). So he was excluded in the definition of the neighbor as requested by the scholar of the law (Leviticus 19:18). Yet, he is the only true neighbor to the victim on the road. We are all called to have compassion on anyone to be their true neighbors. St. Thomas Aquinas defines the “neighbor” as anyone we encounter and to whom we extend our goodness and our generosity for God’s sake. St. Elizabeth of Trinity calls every human person as: “holy ground”. This means that everyone we meet is a “vessel of God’s love and presence”.
What about if we were the man who was left half dead?
In this parable, we are the man who was beaten on the road and Jesus is the Good Samaritan, the one who stops by our side to heal us. Just as this man would have died if the Good Samaritan would have passed, so would we have perished by sin and its effects represented in the story by the robbers as well as the wounds in the body of the man. These wounds of mortal and venial sins often require serious attention on our part. We must approach Jesus who pours out the precious blood flowing from his cross to forgive us just as the Samaritan poured out the oil and wine on the wounds of the victim. Christ left us in his Inn, the Church, and the priests are his Innkeeper who would continue his mission of healing and forgiveness until he comes again. Christ, like the Samaritan in the story, also bandages our wounds with his own bleeding flesh and restores our dignity of being children of God. The oil represents the Holy Spirit that we need for strength on our spiritual journey. This parable echoes the power of the grace that Christ has entrusted to his Church to continue in his name the healing of the “man left half dead”: “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained” (John 20:23). He handed two silver coins to the Innkeeper with the instruction, “Take care of him. If you pay more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back” (Luke 10:35). What an incomprehensible love!
Jesus in this parable exposes our own prejudices and self-righteousness. Jesus is the True Good Samaritan who saves our lives. But we are all invited to emulate his love in our daily lives.
Happy Sunday!
Fr. Georges Roger BIDZGO SAC
Living the Gospel this Week. What is Moral Law?
“If only you would heed the voice of the Lord, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this book of the Law”
The words of Moses from the first reading from Deuteronomy 30:10, inspired me to speak about what is commonly known as Moral Law, that is, a set of religious law like canon law, or natural law or divine Law, which not necessarily set down by legislation. Moral law comes from God as a gift to guide us in choosing what good and avoiding harm. This law is already written in our hearts. It is not just a set of rules. By following moral law, we grow closer to God and live in ways that respect others. Moral Laws help build a just and loving community.
The core question that could help each of us act morally is "How will my actions affect others, and are those effects aligned with the Common Good and God’s will?”
Fr. Georges Roger Bidzogo sac