The Good Samaritan: Mercy, Love, Truth, Action

Brothers and sisters:
I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking
the one who called you by the grace of Christ
for a different gospel (not that there is another).
But there are some who are disturbing you
and wish to pervert the Gospel of Christ.
But even if we or an angel from heaven
should preach to you a gospel
other than the one that we preached to you,
let that one be accursed!
As we have said before, and now I say again,
if anyone preaches to you a gospel
other than the one that you received,
let that one be accursed!

Am I now currying favor with human beings or God?
Or am I seeking to please people?
If I were still trying to please people,
I would not be a slave of Christ.

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters,
that the Gospel preached by me is not of human origin.
For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it,
but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. (Galatians 1: 6-12)

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus 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.” (Luke 10:25-37)

The Good Samaritan

 

The parable of the good Samaritan shows us that the Lord desires mercy.

It is an interesting world that we live in. The terms mercy and love have been hijacked by so many. People tend to forget that mercy and love are intrinsically united to truth, and Jesus Christ is the truth.

We as Christians are pledged to uphold the Gospel which is preached to us and has been preached to us from the beginning of Christianity. We must hold this against all who would deny the words of Jesus. We must uphold the Gospel to our brothers and sisters who claim to follow Christ but who choose which lines of Scripture to follow. You hear words like, “Oh, we don’t do that anymore,” or, “That’s medieval or outdated.” The Bible is not to be ignored. It is not outdated. We cannot pick and choose from the Gospel. We cannot say that we are loving and merciful if we are not following the truth. 

Some people say that parts of the Gospel do not make people happy and so how could a loving God say those things? This is silly because parents who discipline their children do not always make them happy. In the first reading we see how we will serve man or God. Does the parent love the child when they discipline them? I think so. Our Lord never speaks in opposition to the truth, and he calls us to him in mercy and love, and calls us to show mercy and love and truth to others. 

In the Gospel the good Samaritan is the one who took action. The Levite and the priest who walked by the injured man were indifferent to him or ignored him or were selfish in their own desires to do what they wanted. The good Samaritan was taking a chance on the man because he did not know him, he did not know the man’s reaction to his assistance. We have to take a chance when we help others; we cannot just walk by. The good Samaritan had to reach out. Sometimes the medicine we give is not well received. When the good Samaritan poured the wine onto the wounds, the man must have winced, but it was necessary to cleanse the wounds. Mercy was shown with love. 

God calls us to go the extra mile. We cannot be indifferent. We cannot be selfish. The Gospel calls us to help and to bring people to heaven.

--Father Jacob Meyer