XV Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Dt 30:10-14
Ps 66:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37
Col 1:15-20
Lk 10:25-37

You’ve probably heard it before; it is the common mantra out there in world:  “You don’t need religion.  All you need to do is just be a good person.”  This kind of “good person” religion doesn’t work.  Perhaps maybe back in ancient times where there was some sort of sacro-sanct moral codes this could work.  But now that we live in a pluralistic, relativistic, and ostensibly tolerant society, your definition of good and my definition of good will probably not be the same.  People’s standards and moral values have changed – everybody, I hope, is trying to be good.  But his good and her good don’t always match up and then conflict arises.

All early civilizations had a set of governing laws and you could say that they are more or less consistent on what was good and what was bad.  Even cannibals, I have heard, use discretion and draw lines of what they can and cannot eat.  Murder is bad, stealing is bad, and adultery is bad.  It’s pretty simple.  We see something of an innate moral code that is built into every single human person, what is called “Natural Law”.  As societies develop, the peripherals may change but the core should remain the same.  And as knowledge and wisdom increases, adjustments are made.

In particular, we look at Divine Revelation: starting with the Hebrew people of ancient times all the way through the time of Christ and the Apostles.  In Deuteronomy, Moses says to the people, “For this command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you… it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.”   God, speaking through Moses is saying that although there are so many laws – the essential is there in your heart and soul.  When God gives the law to the Jewish people – there moral codes were raised to a new level.  They were not only doing what was natural but ordering their lives in response to this Divine Revelation.   It was a gift for them and they tried, as they did, to adhere to them.  This was to prepare the ground, as it were, for the next “installment” of Revelation in the Incarnation of Christ.

When we hear the story of the Good Samaritan, we are reminded again of going above and beyond what is required into the heart of God’s revelation to us.  The Old Testament required ritual purity and also had a hierarchy of treatment starting with family, extended relatives, and finally as a race. Those outside, the slave, servant, and stranger and foreigner were treated differently.  You have probably heard that the Jews and Samaritans did not get along.  Using this contemporary animosity of these social groups, Christ drew his teaching point:  all people needed to be treated with respect and dignity.  Christ expands the definition of neighbor to not only be family and the Jewish people, but to everyone – even their enemies. Therefore, we have heard it time and time again in Church: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  You have probably heard of the Golden Rule and different versions of it.  It is no surprise that Christ brings this into the picture.

But going back to the beginning of my homily about the “Good Person” religion, one might ask, “Well if the Golden Rule is all I need – why should I bother with this mumbo jumbo religion stuff. I’ll just do that and I’ll be fine.”  To which I would reply, “That’s not good enough.”  Why?  Because we live in a pluralistic world of utility and everybody’s definitions are all over the place.  What if a murderer welcomed being murdered?  Fits the Golden Rule right?  Doesn’t sound right does it?  Natural law only prepares the ground to receive something more: Divine Law through revelation.  Just as in the Old Testament made the soil fertile for the salvation of Christ to come about, we in a secular age must be able to transcend into the fullness of His revelation: Jesus Christ. The Law is the “what” but Jesus is the “how”.  They are not contradictory, but work in harmony – so that those who do not yet know God can still approach Him.

As St. Paul writes to the Colossians, Christ is the image of the invisible God… He is before all things… He is the head of the body, the church.  When we as the human race receive something from God, it isn’t optional.  He came so that we may have life and have it more abundantly (cf. Jn 10:10).  Therefore, He knew that what He had revealed would have difficulty meeting people where they were at and so the establishment of the Apostles and the Church was only natural and intentional.  The Church then, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, becomes the place where we seek help in understanding “how” we should love and “how” we should worship.  This cornerstone of the Faith is essential for us as Catholics.  Otherwise we run the risk of being no different than the secular world out there – picking and choosing what they want to value and what they devalue.

The hot and controversial topics that we hear about today in the media and news cannot simply be determined by our prior experience and knowledge which may be biased – but rather our reactions and responses must be determined through prayer and understanding through the Church.  One cannot demand others to respect life and then mistreat immigrants or criminals or strangers.  The Gospel today calls us to task.

The great commandment demands love and compassion for our neighbor – anyone and everyone.  The Church teaches that there is a preferential option for the poor – to bring relief to those who suffer and an end to injustices.  These are things that we must work on in society, but to do that we must first begin with calling ourselves to task – how have I helped those around me?  When I saw a need did I ignore it and pass by on the opposite side?  Did I treat my neighbor as if they were my own flesh and blood?

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta loved the poorest of the poor and her heroic compassion seemed to be unmatched with her contemporaries.  It was a deep spirituality for her to face the repugnance and dirtiness of festering wounds of her neighbor so that she could love the Lord, her God, with all her heart, being, strength, and mind.  Would that we do the same and enter and bathe the wounds of Christ as we clean the wounds of our neighbors with compassion.