Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year C

Readings: Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37

Go, and do the same yourself?

The familiar parable of the Good Samaritan is once again given to us today to reflect upon the need to reach out to the ‘other’. Jesus makes very clear today the notion of the ‘other’ and how this ‘other’ matters to us in our life. And he says, “Go and do the same yourself”.

As the followers of Christ, each one of us is called to care for our neighbour and this neighbour could be anyone, doesn’t matter their colour, creed, sex, religion, and so on. What is important is, ‘this person is in need and I am here to reach out to them’. Unfortunately, that was not the response of the first two people that passed by the injured person. They were so engrossed in their own way of thinking and acting, they could not see the need of the injured person. They were so worried about the consequences of their act of helping this person, that, they failed to see the suffering of another human being. But it is not new, we see this happening every day. Just turn on the news channel on the television!

That is why Jesus challenges the scribe to go and do the same as the good Samaritan did. It is not easy, it is not something comes to us naturally, it has consequences, it needs time and sacrifice from our part. We may be looked down upon by other people, we may be shamed by the society, we may have to explain forever the happenings, but, in-spite-of all the above, the need of the person concerned overpowers everything.

That is one thing I always appreciated on our roads here in Australia, whenever an emergency vehicle comes by, we give way (Yes, that is the law, but I think the good will of the people does show in this act!).

So how can we “Go and do the same yourself”? I don’t think it is something impossible to do. What we need is the vision to see the need of the people. What we need is a compassionate heart, a desire to be with the people. And, the courage to stand up to criticisms and challenges whenever they come. Therefore, let us take this message to our heart, as Mary Mackillop said, “Never see a need without doing something about it”. Let us be open to the promptings of the Spirit to open our eyes and heart to the people around us. Let us be genuine in reaching out and not just ‘help’ for the sake of helping (Which unfortunately happens, sometimes, in the name of charity – ‘oh those poor people need something, so let us give them or else we will be blamed!’).

Go and do the same yourself is packed with meaning and challenge. It is one thing to say it and hard to do. But Jesus himself did this. He reached out to people, as many as he could, and he calls us to do the same. Let us see that injured person on the roadside, that sick person in the hospital, a neighbour who has just lost a loved one, a colleague who is being bullied by others, an old lady who needs her garden tended, a homeless person who is looking for food in the bin, a drug addict, an alcoholic, the list goes on and on. Let us start with one person and soon we will be able to live the challenge Jesus gave us.