Gospel: Luke 10:25-37
A teacher of the law came and began putting Jesus to the test. And he said, “Master, what shall I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?” The man answered, “It is written: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus replied, “What a good answer! Do this and you shall live.” The man wanted to justify his question, so he asked, “Who is my neighbor?”
Jesus then said, “There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him and went off, leaving him half-dead.
It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite saw the man, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan also was going that way; and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion. He went over to him, and cleaned his wounds with oil and wine, and wrapped them in bandages. Then he put him on his own mount, and brought him to an inn, where he took care of him.
The next day, he had to set off; but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I return.’”
Jesus then asked, “Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The teacher of the law answered, “The one who had mercy on him.” And Jesus said, “Then go and do the same.”
Reflection
"Then go and do the same."
A common adage says that charity begins at home. Home is where we are exposed to the values we hold dear – how to love, how to be kind, and how to be charitable. The gospel shows how such charity can be translated. Jesus said, "Then go and do the same." However, while charity begins in our homes, it is never confined to them. It is not only limited to our families, clans, and
cliques. Jesus illustrates this when asked who someone's neighbor is. Despite tribal differences and historical conflicts, Jesus challenges our ideas of limited charity. He invites us to go beyond the common groups we have, even to those we consider the other or "enemy."
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