15th Sunday of the Year (C)

Sunday Reflections for Liturgical Years 2011 (A), 2012 (B), and 2013 (C)

15th Sunday of the Year (C), July 14, 2013

Liturgical readings
Deuteronomy 30:10-14
Psalm 69
Colossians 1:15-20
Luke 10:25-37

"Then go and do the same."

The positive influence of good example. We need a lot of this in our times. The gospel portrays what good example is in our faith. A parable from Jesus makes this point before a lawyer. This parable is a familiar story even to non-Christians.

There was a man who on his journey fell into robbers and was left half-dead. A priest saw him and passed him by. So did a Levite. But when a Samaritan saw him, noticing that he was a Jew (Jews of that time looked down on their Samaritan neighbors), his heart was nevertheless moved with compassion. Despite the racial barriers between them, the Samaritan took care of the wounded Jew.

Compassion is a universal virtue. It is a language understood by all. That is why Blessed John Paul II drew such a huge audience wherever he went in his missionary journeys. Everyone understood well the language of compassion he spoke. His respect for life in all its stages, enkindled every heart who sought God earnestly and sincerely. His devotion to the Blessed Mother of God influenced the entire world, to work for the cause of peace, and to care for the sick, the elderly, and life at its most vulnerable stages.

"Then go and do the same." Like Jesus and Blessed John Paul II, we are called to cultivate in our lives and work that same quality of compassion and care for others. We need not be itinerant missionaries like them, but each one of us has been gifted by God with one or more of the following: strength of character, a rank of privilege or influence, material resources, an ability, a talent, a specific intelligence, or a noble ancestry. With just one of any of these, we can apply the universal virtue of compassion to our places of work - where not all are Catholics, nor even Christians. So, the Lord speaks to our heart in the gospel now: "Then go and do the same."

Scripture verses
"This command is something very near to you, already in your hearts; you have only to carry it out." (Deuteronomy 30)
"For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah." (Psalm 69)
"Christ is before all else that is. In him everything continues in being." (Colossians 1)