Ken Overberg, S.J.

15th Sunday, July 11, 2010
 
Today’s readings lead us to the very center of life, to the heart of it all: love of God and love of neighbor.
 
The first reading from Deuteronomy sets the context for the Gospel scene.  Deuteronomy speaks of turning to God with all one’s heart and soul and reminds us that God’s law is planted deep within us. A shadow side of this biblical worldview is its conviction that if you obey, you will be rewarded; if you sin, you will be punished.  Suffering, then, is interpreted as a sign of sin.  The book of Job is already a debate with this theory of retribution (Job suffers even though he is innocent), but many of us still live with too narrow an image of God’s love, especially as revealed by Jesus.
 
In the gospel, Jesus tells the story of the Samaritan to enlighten the meaning of love of God and neighbor.  The story has become too familiar and so has lost its impact.  We hear “Samaritan” and think “good.”  For Jesus’ audience, of course, it was just the opposite.  The Jewish people and the Samaritans hated each other.  For us to hear the story today, we must substitute for the Samaritan a figure who represents all our deepest prejudices.  For example, Pope John XXIII walks by; Mother Teresa walks by; Osama bin Laden stops to help.  Note too that the meaning of the word “neighbor” changes from the object of one’s love (in the first part of the gospel) to being actively a neighbor to another (in the story).
 
The second reading provides the context for all of this, indeed, for all of life.  A liturgical hymn that the author of Colossians (who was not Paul) incorporated into the text, this passage offers a cosmic vision.  At various times in the past, I have reflected with you on an alternate view in the Christian tradition that emphasizes Jesus as God’s first thought—not an afterthought to original sin.  God so desires to share life and love—and in a unique way in Jesus—that God creates us in order to become one of us.  Jesus lives and reveals the fullness of life and love.  This passage proclaims this marvelous vision, even if a little atonement slips in at the end.
 
The passage also speaks of the “principalities and powers.”  Today these powers can best be understood as the spirituality, the interiority, of political, economic, and social institutions and structures.  We experience the powers in Church and marriage, in business and education—often powers of domination that keep us from true love of God and neighbor.  But Colossians reminds us that Christ is pre-eminent!
 
Let’s listen to God’s word!

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            Love—that’s what it is all about!  The awesome love of God in creating us, in becoming one of us, in nurturing us and leading us to the fullness of life, in inviting us to be love for others.  Love—especially as experienced in the ordinary realities of our lives.
 
            Sometimes we are that person in Jesus’ story who was beaten.  We suffer in body or spirit.  People may pass us by, missing or ignoring our pain.  Others may touch us with gentle compassion.
 
            Sometimes we are the compassionate one, pouring out extravagant care.  In both cases, Jesus calls us to be alert to prejudices that create boundaries and barriers.
 
            Our rich readings invite us to take some time this week for an examination of conscience.  Who are the Samaritans—the heretics, the outcasts—in our lives?  How do we respond to them?  God’s word also invites us to the prayer of reminiscence, gently recalling the people and events where we have encountered God in the love of others—an arm around the shoulder in a time of grief, a word of forgiveness, inspiration from another’s courage or holiness, faithful friendship.
 
            The receiving and giving of love: what does it mean for you on this Summer Sunday?