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And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" So he answered and said, "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 'your neighbor as yourself.'" And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" And he said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
- Luke 10:25-37
Yesterday, we read that the seventy apostles sent out by Jesus returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name." And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."
And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" So he answered and said, "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 'your neighbor as yourself.'" And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live." The lawyer cites quotations from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. It's important that Jesus tells him, "Do this and you will live." It helps us to understand something essential about the rest of our reading, about the power of our own choices and elective decisions. We note that these choices are centered around the love of God, which must naturally extend to love of neighbor.
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Then Jesus answered and said: "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead." My study bible tells us that Jerusalem is the place of peace, symbolic of communion with God. But Jericho, on the other hand, was infamous as a place of sin (see 19:1). To fall among thieves speaks of the natural consequence of journeying away from God and toward a life of sin (see John 10:10).
"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side." My study bible explains that titles and positions are meaningless in God's sight when good deeds don't accompany them. It quotes Cyril of Alexandria, who says, "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds." It adds that the failure of the priest and Levite to help the man indicates the failure of the Old Testament Law to heal the consequences of sin.
"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion." On the other hand, here we have a despised foreigner, who is an image of Christ (John 8:48), for, as my study bible notes, He "came down from heaven" (Creed) to save even those who were in rebellion against Him. Again, there is the emphasis on the elective choice one makes.
So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'" My study bible says that the bandages, oil, and wine are all sacramental images. Bandages reflect the garment of baptism, which delivers us from the wounds of sin. The oil teaches us about the oil of chrismation, giving new life in the Holy Spirit. The communion of the divine blood -- symbolized by the wine -- leads to eternal life. "His own animal" indicates Christ who bears our sins in His own body, and the inn is a reflection of the Church in which Christ's care is received. My study bible notes, "He pays the price for that care (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23)." We note once again the voluntary, elective nature of this care, this aid.
"So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" And he said, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." Go and do likewise. This is a command given by Christ. It's a command not to ask, "Who is my neighbor?" but rather to act as a neighbor, to be a neighbor oneself. We can't help but to continually reference the elective and voluntary nature of this command, of our following of these commands. To love God with one's heart and soul and strength and mind isn't something born merely from having been baptized, or going through the sacraments of the Church, or any of the other things that are done to us. This is something we choose. In some sense, it is truly a response to God's love, but we have to note the emphasis here on our own choices, our own elective capacities. Nobody is left out of this command -- not a Samaritan, nor a Jew, nor anybody else. Nobody is left out of the capacity to follow this command. Nor does Jesus show any requirement in this story for any pre-condition to loving God. This applies to anyone, anywhere, to the best of one's own capacity and understanding for doing so. The same goes for the second command cited by the lawyer, to love neighbor as oneself. But then we get down to the question, "Who is my neighbor?" and Jesus answers that with a story that uncovers the voluntary nature of His response to the question: We don't ask, "Who is my neighbor?" Instead, He compels us to ask how we can be a neighbor, act as a neighbor, and He gives a response that teaches what it is to be a neighbor. And what is it, really, that makes a neighbor? Following the real commands here: loving God with all one's heart and soul and strength and mind, and loving neighbor as oneself. We don't choose who our neighbors are except to choose to be neighbors ourselves, and thus we answer the question, "Who is my neighbor?" All of this is elective, voluntary. It doesn't depend on who the person is who passes by on the other side, or where these people are, or what anybody already has as a personal affiliation. What matters is the choice of the heart, the elective power of the moment. If you choose to be a neighbor, it follows that both the actor and the recipient of this choice are "neighbors." I think it's important that this story comes in Luke just after Jesus appoints and sends out the seventy apostles (this is after the first mission of the Twelve), because after the return of the Seventy from a successful mission, He rejoices that God has revealed so many things to "babes." In this vein, too, we can see the elective nature of the reality of the Kingdom of God. Their participation as apostles has nothing to do with a kind of worldly sense of preparation or qualification; this is what is indicated by the word "babes" Jesus uses. Everything is focused and centered on the love of God and the willingness to serve God in the love of neighbor; all other things come from these two central commands. Whatever Jesus teaches expands this, and His teachings center in love. Here, in today's reading, the lawyer is given a command -- and of course, it's an inferred command to all of us -- "Go and do likewise." In John's Gospel, at the Last Supper, He adds another command, "Love one another as I have loved you." Both are commands that expand upon the earlier ones, and particularly in the direct of the practice of active love. Let us consider, then, what the obstacles are to following His commands. There are none. There are no requirements here that one has to be baptized first. There are no requirements here that one has to be a Jew or another category of person. There is just the requirement to be the person one is called to be, in the love of God and love of neighbor, in the practice of that love, in our understanding of how we practice that love. Let us consider the nature of the heart, the true inside of a person, our own inner reality, and all the emphasis that Jesus continually puts on that. "Go and do likewise." Let us show mercy; let us be "like God." This is where our identity lies.
