Be a Neighbour: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sermon by Emmanuel Suntheni OSB – Fifteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time – Year C
Sermon And Christian Act In The Word
Theme: Be a Neighbour and Be a Good Samaritan! Do not look for a neighbour, but be a neighbour yourself!
Point of Reflection: Today’s Gospel about the Good Samaritan teaches us a very unique aspect in our daily Christian living: do not look for a neighbour but be a neighbour yourself. Jesus is commanding the lawyer to go and do likewise, that is, to be a Good Samaritan and to be a neighbour by helping others. Those who understand and act on the teaching of today’s liturgy are firmly set on the path to eternal life, to the ultimate and holistic prosperity of eternity. These are those for whom, in the words of the Psalmist, “the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes”.
First Reading: Deuteronomy 30:10–14
Psalm: Psalm 69:14, 17, 30–31, 33–34, 36, 37
Second Reading: Colossians 1:15–20
Gospel: Luke 10:25–37
Sermon (Reflection): The book of Deuteronomy, sometimes called “the Testament of Moses”, contains numerous instructions and exhortations which Moses delivered before his death. Today’s passage clearly reflects the intention behind Moses’ words. He begins by revealing God’s concern about his people’s prosperity and how God delights in “prospering” them. God’s commandments and decrees were inscribed in the book of the law called “the Torah”, which literally means “the law” or “guidance”. The same word refers to the first five books of the Bible, where these laws are found. The Torah is not a collection of God’s arbitrary and abstract decrees intended to burden the people. On the contrary, these laws are intended to bring prosperity and well-being to those willing to live by them. And the Israelites place the Torah in their mouths and hearts. As a Christian, where have I placed the Bible?
As Israelites placed the Torah in their mouth and their hearts, we too, as Christians we need to place the Bible, which is the Gospel of love, in our hearts and mouth,s that is to speak of it and live by it. Thanks to God’s gift of the law, the way to well-being and prosperity has been made known.
The Gospel reading of today(Cf. Luke 10:25–37) contains the well-known story of the “good Samaritan” whose true meaning often remains unrecognised. The story serves to answer the question posed by a Jewish religious scholar, a lawyer, about the way to attain eternal life. Posing the question, the lawyer intended to test Jesus as to whether he would remain faithful to the teaching of the Torah on this matter. Answering, Jesus quotes two key passages from the Torah. Citing Deuteronomy 6:5 Jesus states that eternal life requires the absolute and total commitment to God shown by loving him with all the heart, the soul, and the mind. Second, eternal life requires the love of the neighbour as stated in Leviticus 19:18. Citing these two passages from the Torah, Jesus proves himself completely faithful and compliant with the divine law.
The lawyer, not finding anything wrong with Jesus’ answers, pushes the matter further, asking him to define what the word “neighbour” means. In the view of many Jews of Jesus’ day, the teaching and commandments of the Torah applied only to their fellow Jews. Therefore, responding to the challenge and revealing the right interpretation of the Torah, Jesus proceeds to redefine the understanding of the meaning of “neighbour”.
Using the story of the Samaritan who helps a wounded Jewish man, Jesus challenged the prevailing understanding of “the neighbour”. The priest and the Levite, both Jews, were indifferent to their wounded compatriot, perhaps thinking him already dead. A non-Jew and a despised foreigner, a Samaritan, rescued the suffering man from death at a great personal expense. This certainly is a story of compassion, mercy, and inclusion, but its chief purpose is to teach a lesson about the way to eternal life.
The story clarifies that to gain eternal life one must love one’s neighbour. But who is the neighbour? Contrary to the common belief of the day, being neighbours is not based on ethnic, racial, or national grounds. A person does not become a neighbour to another automatically, by virtue of being born in the same country or being of the same race. Therefore, to have neighbours, a person must “make neighbours”. This “neighbour-making” process consists of extending mercy to another human being. Mercy in the biblical language is not about forgiveness but rather about protecting, preserving, or restoring the life and well-being of someone in need. Thus, we do not “have neighbours”, we “make neighbours”. Consequently, the way to eternal life leads through acts of mercy by which a person acquires neighbours. The story teaches that eternal life can be reached through acting mercifully towards a fellow human being in need.
By helping fellow human beings prosper in their life, believers walk the path to the ultimate prosperity.
The second reading of today (Cf. Colossians 1:15–20) begins the sequence of readings from the letter to the Colossians. Today’s passage contains one of the most beautiful and profound hymns dedicated to Christ in the New Testament. The author of Colossians placed this hymn in the opening lines of his letter to signify that all he writes should be read and understood in relation to Christ, whom he beautifully and profoundly describes as the creator and sustainer.
As the creator and sustainer of the world and the Church, Jesus is the foundation upon which all life, and particularly the life of believers, rests. In Colossians, the author focuses on the spiritual dimension of believers’ existence, emphasising that spiritual prosperity and blessing can be found only in and through Jesus. The way to spiritual harmony and wellbeing leads through him who fills the community of believers with his presence.
Christian Act in Word of God: “Be the Neighbour”
In the first reading from the book of Deuteronomy, Moses tells us that the law of God is not too abstract or written in such a way that it cannot be accessed. This law is near to us, and accessible. It is the Word of God that we read and hear frequently. We are called to make the word of God come alive in us so that we can prosper in all that we do. In traditional African societies, there were many rules and regulations presented in the form of taboos. These taboos were meant to help individuals to have harmonious relationships with God, their ancestors, neighbours, and the environment, ultimately leading to prosperity. Whenever there was a disaster like famine or drought, it was seen as a sign of disharmony in this relationship between God, ancestors, neighbours, and the environment. Hence, the relationship had to be restored so that the land and its people could prosper. For us Christians, God’s word serves as a guide to maintaining this kind of life-preserving harmony.
Today’s liturgy also tells us about the central role of Jesus Christ. He is the one who sustains everything that there is because, through his passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus has reconciled everything to God. As Christians in search of lasting prosperity, we must never forget that the person of Jesus stands at the centre of our lives. All our pursuits, material and spiritual, must be related to him. In him, we find that spiritual connection to God that eventually gives us the greatest prosperity imaginable – eternal life.
The liturgy also teaches us that the quest for spiritual and material prosperity involves our relationship with our neighbours whom we encounter in our day-to-day activities. Jesus tells us that the neighbour is not necessarily the one who lives next door to us. Rather, we are called to make neighbours through our acts of compassion, mercy, and inclusion. In our context, this is a call to go beyond tribalism, racism, and nationalism. Especially in our African society, tribalism is an issue that brings about the exclusion of people, putting them in boxes and labelling them as either evil or wicked. All human beings face the temptation to practice exclusion based on race and economic status. The practice of such exclusion is often seen as a way to protect one’s prosperity. However, we are reminded today that exclusion intended to protect prosperity ironically makes true prosperity impossible.
God has given to us the law, and the teaching of Jesus contained in the Scriptures as a guide for the journey through life in a search for well-being and prosperity. These guidelines help us on the way to eternal life and union with Jesus. However, our earthly prosperity is also important, and it is achieved by making neighbours in this world through acts of compassion, mercy, and inclusion. As the saying goes, “a good deed will make a good neighbour.” Let us be the neighbour, not looking for neighbours.
Action: By all means, I’m opening my heart from now on to be a neighbour and a Good Samaritan.
Prayer: God, our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of life and the gift of each other. Open our hearts, Lord, to be neighbours to each other and to live by acts of mercy. Grant us the grace to help each other at all times. As your loving children, we may reach eternal life with you. We ask this through Christ our Lord, Amen.
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