“There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, ‘Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘What is written in the law? How do you read it?’ He said in reply, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.’ He replied to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.’
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?’ He answered, ‘The one who treated him with mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” (Lk 10:25-37 NABRE)
Have you ever been so focused on a task you’re trying to complete or so focused on carrying out a plan you’ve made, that you experienced a kind of tunnel vision, such that you were solely fixated on your successful and timely completion of the goal or schedule? We’ve all most likely experienced irritation derived from being interrupted and treated others with impatience or were short with them, all in an effort to get back on track with our work or plan as quickly as possible.
Today’s Gospel is a reminder that we are called to look out for, care for, and to be merciful and loving towards others, regardless of where we are going, the plans we have, or the work we are trying to complete.
The priest and the Levite both saw someone in need, and passed by. They could not be bothered, and most likely believed they had reasons for leaving the victim behind and that these reasons were valid and justified their choice to pass by. They thus excused themselves from helping the man. The good Samaritan, however, immediately and selflessly put aside any of his personal plans in order to take care of the victim. Rather than coming up with excuses to validate a decision to pass by, the good Samaritan stopped what he was doing, and was a neighbor to the victim.
May we “go and do likewise” in our own lives. May we never hesitate to care for the needs of others, regardless of how busy we are or what we have going on. Whether we’re at home, work, school, grocery shopping, at a doctor’s appointment, out for a walk, no matter where we are or what we’re doing, we must strive to always be willing to stop what we’re doing in order to be a fully attentive neighbor to whoever crosses our path. May we follow the good Samaritan’s example.
“Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Mt. 25:40)