Sunday Readings for July 12-13, Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Jack Treloar | For On Mission
Several weeks ago, I received a newsletter from a school at which I once served; the lead article bore the title “Becoming All God Imagines.” This inscription is perfect for the Gospel story of the Good Samaritan this week because the Samaritan, by helping the man in distress, became all God imagined him to be. We often think of this story as a simple answer to the question, “Who is my neighbor?” When we examine the details of the story, however, we realize that it is really about becoming all God imagines us to be.
The man who helps the victim lying on the side of the road is full of compassion. He sees the wounds and knows he must aid the damaged man. Even though he is a Samaritan, his common humanity urges him to help. He is an outcast, but he knows the man will die without help. In his act of comfort, he becomes all that God imagines.
When we examine his subsequent actions — pouring wine and oil on the wounds, placing the victim on his donkey, taking him to an inn, staying with him overnight, paying the innkeeper for the lodging and promising to reimburse the innkeeper for further expenses — we see multiple manifestations of acting in accord with God’s desire that we help others in need. Even if the help we give costs us, God views these deeds as part of what he imagines for us.
This parable can lead us to reflect on our dealings with others, especially those in need. I know of a young man working in New York City with slender means. He meets people begging in the Port Authority every morning as he goes to work. He often gives them a pair of new socks. He too is becoming all God imagines, one pair of socks at a time.
Returning to the fundamental question of the parable, “Who is my neighbor?” We realize that the neighbor is anyone in need. There is the single mother trying to put food on the table for her children. There is the immigrant fleeing persecution in his land. There is the permanently disabled person in a wheelchair. The examples could go on and on. If we want to become all that God imagines, then we must attend to God’s children who need our help.
In many of his writings, Pope Francis emphasized that we are all brothers and sisters because of our common humanity. In his encyclical letter, “On Fraternity and Social Friendship (Fratelli Tutti),” he prays, “May we recognize the goodness and beauty that you have sown in each of us, and thus forge bonds of unity, common projects and shared dreams. Amen.” Francis shows us how to become all God imagines.
The readings for Sunday, July 13, can be found at Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time | USCCB