Knowledge Must Lead To Action

𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘 𝟏𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇 𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐃𝐭 𝟑𝟎:𝟏𝟎-𝟏𝟒

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟔𝟗:𝟏𝟒, 𝟏𝟕, 𝟑𝟎-𝟑𝟏, 𝟑𝟑-𝟑𝟒, 𝟑𝟔, 𝟑𝟕 “𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞.”

𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐂𝐨𝐥 𝟏:𝟏𝟓-𝟐𝟎

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐋𝐤 𝟏𝟎:𝟐𝟓-𝟑𝟕

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: “…. 𝑮𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒆.” (𝑳𝒌 10:37) 

          The Gospel passage on this Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time is something that Filipinos are very familiar with especially those who were raised in the old tradition when people in this part of the world were the epitome of kindness and generosity such that the Filipino’s unbridled brand of hospitality has now become a national identity known the world over.

        But times have changed and the influence of the Western culture has created a new mindset among the populace and the once leisurely pace of life gave way to a radical change in the way of life and in the character of the people especially during these times when mundane concerns seem to have upstaged the good-natured spirit behind the “bayanihan” spirit for which Filipinos are known for.

        And this parable on the Good Samaritan comes as a timely reminder for all of us to reacquire the spirit of good neighborly relations that springs from our innate love for our God before this “bayanihan” spirit is forever lost to us.

         Here in today’s Gospel, we read about a beautiful exchange that Jesus had with a scholar of the law and we see Jesus once again emphasizing the means by which we can enjoy eternal life. Tested by an expert in the Torah or the Laws of Moses, Jesus was asked: “𝑻𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝒊𝒏𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒕 𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆?” (𝑳𝒌 10:25) Instead of answering, Jesus threw back the question by asking: “𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒘? 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒊𝒕?” (𝒗.26)       

         In this way, Jesus wanted the legal expert to find out for himself what the Scriptures and he obliged by quoting from 𝐃𝐞𝐮𝐭 𝟔:𝟓 and 𝐋𝐞𝐯 𝟏𝟗:𝟏𝟖 saying: “𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒃𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇.”        

         And Jesus said: “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚. 𝑫𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆.” (𝒗.28) What Jesus was emphasizing in this verse was not just the need for those desiring eternal life to know and be aware of the two greatest commandments more importantly the action that should spring from the knowing part and that is in the doing. In other words, anyone who comes across these two verses can memorize it without any effort at all, but it will not give us eternal life. It is only when we take this to heart and put them into action that eternal life becomes a reality.

         But the Jews have a different concept of who might a neighbor be, thus limiting his definition to fellow Jews and Jesus once again tore down this argument by narrating a parable about how a Jew was beaten and robbed on the road to Jericho which was a dangerous place to be as it teemed with thieves and bandits.

         As the Jew lay wounded on the road, a priest and a Levite passed by one after the other but ignored the man as they went by the other side of the road. Then came a Samaritan who belongs to a tribe that was so hated by the Jews, but he stopped and cared for the wounded Jew. The rest is history as they say. The priest and the Levite, however, cannot be faulted for not coming to the aid of the man and this was somewhat tied to their belief that contact with a bloodied person will make them unclean.

         Even today, there are many who will refuse to give help or alms to the needy because they disdain getting in contact with unkempt beggars on the road. In some cases, our biases and prejudices against those whose fortunes have turned for the worse have kept us from helping them. And how about those in the renewal communities who choose to serve where it is comfortable and convenient.

         But in today’s parable, although Jesus did not give an exact definition of who is our neighbor he nevertheless shows us that anyone who is in need regardless of race, color and creed is our neighbor. Jesus further shows us that to love our neighbor can be costly as was in the case of the Samaritan who used his own logistics to help the wounded Jew. But this is precisely what compassion is all about for what good are our material possessions if we will not help a brother in need and still say that we love God? (𝟏 𝐉𝐧 𝟑:𝟏𝟕).        

         When the legal expert himself said the one who showed mercy was the neighbor to the wounded Jew, Jesus told him and Our Lord is telling us now to go and do what the Samaritan did for only in doing can we find eternal life.

         In the face of life’s challenges today, we need to examine ourselves and ask if this parable is still relevant to our present time. How much of my person has been invaded by my selfishness, looking only after my own interests and, in believing “𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘳.”        

        We as disciples of Jesus must ask ourselves how much of the world has dimmed the gift of mercy that Jesus has planted in our hearts. We may be riding on the chariots of success in our careers and business, yet we need to ask ourselves which is our priority when we are placed on the same spot as the Samaritan. Will we be like the priest and the Levite? Or will we choose to be a Samaritan?

         As a Christian and a disciple, we must take heed of the command of Jesus to “𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒆.” (𝒗.37) This means that we must prioritize acts of mercy (𝐂𝐂𝐂 𝟐𝟒𝟒𝟕-𝟐𝟒𝟒𝟖) over our personal comfort and convenience. And it is only in doing so that we can gain eternal life. Our primary responsibility is to obey the greatest commandment that the expert quoted from Leviticus and Deuteronomy, but we cannot rightly love God or our neighbor until we have God’s love in our hearts.

         If we cannot keep the greatest of the commandments, how else can we ever hope to please God? Remember that it is important to see that salvation is by faith and deeds and not by just keeping the law. And we are blessed in such a way that once we are saved, we can depend on the Holy Spirit to help fill our hearts with love.

         The priest and the Levite felt pity for the wounded Jew but they did nothing. For love to be real, it must be accompanied by action. What does this parable mean to you? This parable should always remind us that we should not just ask “𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫?” but more importantly we must ask ourselves the question  – “𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐦 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐫?” (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 13, 2025)