Today’s Reflection
Gospel: Luke 10: 25-37
July 13, 2025 | Sunday

Today’s Gospel

Then a teacher of the law came and began putting Jesus to the test. And he said, “Master, what shall I do to receive eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?” The man answered, “It is written: 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 you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus replied, “What a good answer! Do this and you shall live.” The man wanted to justify his question, so he asked, “Who is my neighbor?”

Jesus then said, “There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him and went off, leaving him halfdead.

It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side. Likewise, a Levite saw the man, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan also was going that way; and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion. He went over to him, and cleaned his wounds with oil and wine, and wrapped them in bandages. Then he put him on his own mount, and brought him to an inn, where he took care of him.

The next day, he had to set off; but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I return.’”

Jesus then asked, “Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The teacher of the law answered, “The one who had mercy on him.”

And Jesus said, “Then go and do the same.”

Today’s Reflection

In the Gospel, the lawyer fully understood that we must love God with all that we are and have. However, on the command to love our neighbor as ourselves, he asked Jesus a key question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan – a parable that most of us are familiar with – a story of a man left half-dead by robbers on the roadside who was ignored by a passing priest and then by a Levite. However, a Samaritan, an enemy of the Jews, saw and approached the unconscious man, bent down to tend to his wounds, lifted him up, and brought him to an inn where he took care of him. When asked his opinion of which of the three was the victim’s neighbor, the lawyer answered, “‘The one who treated him with mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Then go and do the same.”

Jesus directs us to be like the Good Samaritan – one who must be compassionate, concerned, and caring for every person, friend, or foe – for our love of God is not complete unless we love others as we love ourselves. Being prayerful, compliant with our spiritual obligations, regularly attending religious rites, increasing our faith knowledge, and giving monetary or other support to the Church is good – but it is not enough. We also donate to charitable causes and casualties of calamities, but we need to do more. To obey the call to love our neighbor means that we have to go beyond our family, Church, business, and social circles and, like the Good Samaritan, seek out, approach to stoop down, and solicitously touch and uplift the lives of those in need. We are not to confine ourselves to the safe and stress-free sanctums of our lives but go out into the unfortunates of the world – the impoverished, the incapacitated, the impaired, the indisposed – to create and pursue every opportunity to serve and share and be a blessing to them as Jesus is to us.

It is easy for us to think that the parable is about our being the Good Samaritan. But what if Jesus is saying that He is the Good Samaritan and that we, in the brokenness of our lives, are akin to being that injured victim? Or we could be the other character in the parable to whom the Good Samaritan brought the injured man – the innkeeper- to whom he gave two silver coins with the instruction, “Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you when I return.”

If we are to reflect on our lives, there must have been instances when we were like that battered man faced with difficulties, drawbacks, misfortunes, and mishaps, and Good Samaritans came to our rescue and extended assistance and help. Today may be a good time to remember their good deeds and say a prayer for them. We may also be compared to the innkeeper to whom the Good Samaritan gave the two silver coins – the many blessings in our lives, our assets and abilities, which God gave us, which are to be used to “take care” of those in need. Whatever we have received from God must be lovingly shared with others as we pray and hope for the grace that Jesus deems our efforts worthy of His Kingdom.

/Vulnerasti, 2025