Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
Samaritans and Jews were not
exactly friends to each other. If you recall the gospel reading two Sundays
ago, there was a Samaritan town that refused to accept Jesus because he was on
his way to Jerusalem. The rivalry was as old as the division of Israel into two
kingdoms: the northern kingdom (Samaritans) composed of ten tribes of Israel
and the southern kingdom (Jews) composed of two kingdoms. On account of the
rival temple which the Samaritans built on Mt. Gerizim, the rift between the
two peoples reached its peak because the Jews have always held the tradition
that the true Temple was built on Mt. Zion (Jerusalem). That is why that the
Lord Jesus would make a Samaritan as the protagonist of his parable would
strike a sensitive chord in the hearts of the Jewish listeners.
A Samaritan coming to the aid of
a Jew who was robbed and left for dead – the parable was more than just a
simple lesson of charity beyond boundaries (borders). It was a portrayal of the
history of salvation. Man was robbed by the devil of all the riches he has been
endowed with by God. After he was robbed, man was left for dead: “Through the
disobedience of one man, sin entered into the world, and together with sin,
entered death.” (Romans 5:12) The priest and the levite who both passed by the
dying man stood for the Jewish religion. They passed the poor man by not
because they did not care but because there was nothing that they could do for
him. The religion of the Law told people
what to do and what not to do but the same religion could do nothing more than
this. It has no power to save.
It was the Samaritan who came to
help. Jesus identified himself with the Samaritan because he, who came from
heaven, came to help man who was in reality in enmity with God. St. Paul said:
“For why did Christ, when as yet we were weak,
according to the time, die for the ungodly?
For scarce for a just man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man some one
would dare to die. But God
commendeth his charity towards us; because when as yet we were sinners, according
to the time, Christ died for us; much more therefore, being now justified by
his blood, shall we be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much more, being reconciled, shall we
be saved by his life. And not
only so; but also we glory in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we
have now received reconciliation.” (Romans 5: 6-11) This is precisely what
Jesus did for us. We were ungodly, we were sinners, and yet he cleaned and
bound our wounds and lifted us upon his own flesh by himself dying on the
cross. He allowed himself to be beaten and be stripped. He was not left
half-dead. He himself went all the way – he died on the Cross. Indeed, the Lord
Jesus is truly a neighbor for us. He is the “one who treated him (us) with
mercy.” And he commands us to do the same. The Lord said weeks ago: the one who
is forgiven much loves much. He bound our wounds. By his stripes we were
healed. He treated us with mercy. Let us forgive as we have been forgiven. Let
us heal as we were healed. We were forgiven much. Therefore, let us love much.
Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary
conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
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