The Good Samaritan

"But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight." Lk 10:33

The story of the good Samaritan is one of the most well known and powerful stories in the Gospels, and for good reason. Samaritans were hated by the Jews. Accused of being syncretists, people who mixed religious traditions for their own self centered purposes, Samaritans also built their own temple to which non observant Jews were welcomed in contradiction to Jewish law.

If some of this sounds familiar, it should. Too many people label others in ways that not only challenge their belief systems, but denigrate their persons, and Jesus will have none of it. When a Samaritan woman challenged Jesus about Jewish insistence that all had to worship in Jerusalem, he chides her: "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem." Reminding the Samaritan woman that God "looks at the heart," (1 Sam 16:7) Jesus holds up the compassionate Samaritan for our admiration.

The Samaritan not only risks his own life by responding to the fellow who has been robbed, he brings him to an inn so that he can rest and recover from the attack. We know nothing else about this particular Samaritan. Whether he worshiped in the  "false" temple on Mt Gerazim in Samaria and therefore was judged unclean by the Jews was irrelevant. That he stopped and aided someone in need is Jesus' only concern.

Today, help someone in need.

What aspect of the story of the Good Samaritan most moves you?

The Wonder of Marriage

"What God has joined together, no human being must separate." Mk 10:9

Marriage is a sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church, and like all sacraments, an enduring sign of God's love for us. The love of wife and husband for one another in faith is a witness to God's unquenchable and total love for us, and the fundamental reason for the church's prohibition against divorce. Since Christ cannot stop loving us, married couples are challenged to love one another through every trial. St. Paul says it most simply.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church... husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. :..."For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh."This is a profound mystery, but I am talking about Christ and the church."

The challenge of Paul's sentiments can seem overwhelming to married couples, especially when they are struggling with their commitment to one another. Nevertheless, the vision and hope of Paul remain. There is no clearer sign of Christ's love for the church than a married couple trying to heal one another, push past infidelities great and small, and build their relationship into a transparent witness to Christ's love for the church.

Today, pray for those struggling in marriage.

How important do you think marriage is in and for the church?

Seeing and Hearing God in the World

"Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it." Lk 10:24

All of us have seen marvelous things. We have watched children turn into responsible adults, and enjoyed seeing young people enter society with a thirst and a willingness to work for justice. We have seen bald eagles and marvelously powerful waterfalls, and more important than anything else from a faith perspective, we have seen God's face and love in all creation, in the sacraments and the committed service of people all over the world.

Jesus' warning is clear. He tells the disciples not to take for granted what they are seeing and experiencing in him. Not only does he feed 5000 people with a few loaves of bread, and heal a woman who has been bleeding for 12 years, he embraces the poor and a lifestyle that challenges everyone to live more simply and to depend completely on his Father.

The problem for most of us is that we get easily distracted from what really matters. Caught up in a world that demands multitasking, we are often too tired to pay attention to the people God gives us as companions in faith, and ignore the suffering all around us because we are too busy to care deeply. Listening to Jesus in this gospel means slowing down so that our eyes and ears can see and hear the glory of God all around us.

Today, stop for five minutes and look around.

What makes it most difficult for you to do the things you know you are called to do?

Job's Apology

"Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you? I put my hand over my mouth. Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again; though twice, I will do so no more." Job 40:5

The story of Job is powerful, unnerving and compelling, but it is also very difficult to read. God allows Satan to tempt Job, and the righteous man is struck down. Everyone around Job dies and he loses all his many possessions, but does not curse God. 

Finally, however, after enduring more than seems reasonable even for the best of people, Job has had enough, curses the day he was born, and asks God to help him understand why he has to bear these terrible burdens. God reminds Job both that he has a purpose beyond what one can easily see or understand, and is stronger than Satan. 

Only then does Job accept that God has not abandoned him and promises God that he will never question him again. With that God gives Job more than he had before his suffering and allows him to remarry, raise a large family and live 144 years. 

How often we speak when we are in pain and confusion without considering the consequences. How often, too, we wish we could take back our harsh judgments and self protective pronouncements. Job's story promises us that we can begin again. We have only to listen to God and accept forgiveness.

Today, don't say something on the tip of your lips.

How do you explain the trials all people endure? Why do bad things happen to good people?