July 11, 2010 FIFTEENTH SUNDAY OF THE CHURCH YEAR
11 JULY 2010, 5:15, 8:00, 10:00
READINGS: Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37
SAINT MARY PARISH, VIROQUA
Introduction: We have heard the parable of the Good Samaritan all our Catholic lives, and there is no one who does not know its story line. It is a story worthy of remembering.
1. In a way, the question asked by the lawyer is wrongly phrased. Instead of asking, “Who is my neighbor?” he should be asking, “To whom am I a good neighbor.” Everyone without qualification is our neighbor. How can we be good neighbors to them? So often today if we ask someone what his or her main ambition in life is, we are likely to get many answers. They will refer to careers, to schooling, to possessions. Very few would answer, “To be a good person.” Yet, that’s really what matters the most. Being good and being kind are really at the heart of what it means to be human, to be Christian. I think that when we stand before Saint Peter at the gates of heaven, he will open a big book. I don’t think it will list our sins. I think it will list our kindnesses. And the longer the list the better!
2. The most recent books of the Bible were written almost two thousand years ago! And, in a way, the Bible is being re-written again every day. Take, for example, Saturday morning’s La Crosse Tribune stories. As in biblical times there are stories of killings and robberies. And, as in biblical times, there are stories of the Good Samaritan. Case #1: Near Winona, MN two men risk their lives to free victims from burning cars. Case #2: Bridal shop offers 30 free dresses to military brides. Case #3: Billfold is found and returned by a man who drove from La Crosse to Coon Valley to deliver it. Now, I’m not prepared to compare in value the La Crosse Tribune to the Bible, but I am prepared to compare some deeds recorded there to biblical virtue. You and I should continue those stories in our own lives.
3. Carl Jung was a ground breaking psychologist in the beginning of the last century. He once wrote to a Christian woman, “There is something beautiful about what you believe. When Christians see someone hungry and thirsty, they see Christ. When they see someone naked and cloth him, they see Christ. When they visit someone in prison or in the hospital they visit Christ. But what I don’t understand is this: Why do they not see Christ when they look at the brokenness inside themselves? Why do they not see Christ, the Light of the World, when they look into their inner darkness?” While Christ is indeed in our wounded neighbor, he is also in our own wounded selves. And, like the Good Samaritan did to the broken stranger on the road, Jesus brings healing and light to us. Jesus is eager to bring healing to us because…because he loves us.
Conclusion: Dear friends, we should carry this wonderful story of the Good Samaritan in our minds and hearts every day. It will help us to be a neighbor to others, to bring healing to those who are broken; and it will remind us to allow Jesus to bring healing to the brokenness in ourselves.