Moses tells us that God's commandment is written on our hearts. This is the ultimate truth in the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is found in the kindness and goodness that the grace of God has placed in us and is Christ's love and peace.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the man was robbed and beaten, stripped of his clothing, and left to the side of the road for dead. But I think the parable holds the truth that the one attacked was not the only victim. Jesus tells us of all the victims.
God's commandment is written on our hearts and this is the greatest commandment that Jesus talks about. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." Jesus adds "Love your neighbor as you love yourself," which is a continuation of the first part of the commandment. God is in your neighbor as part of God's creation.
By identifying this greatest commandment, Jesus reminds the lawyer of more. There are too many distractions in the World from this commandment. The lawyer would of known all that Moses said. The commandment is not a mystery you don't look to the sky, you don't look across the sea. It is in you and all you have to do is carry it out.
When the lawyers asks "Who is my neighbor?" He shows that even though he knows the commandment, he does not understand it. He has the expectations of the world distractions. This distractions make us all victims. Victims of sin.
Like the priest who was too worried about the Law. Every thing else that was written down, not God's greatest commandment written on his heart.
Like the Levite, a temple official who was too worried about the distraction to status. A distraction from what should have been written on his heart.
Both were victims of the robbery. It robbed them of the greatest commandment. The victim was stripped of everything that protected him from the outside world; but, the priest and levite were stripped of the love for God and their neighbor. Their souls left for dead.
How many of us can say we are truly the Good Samaritan? We all posse the love of Christ that makes us so full of kindness and goodness that we want to go out of our way to help our neighbors and bring comfort. Go our of our way to rid ourselves of intolerance and prejudice and bring justice to the poor. But, many of us have distractions that make us fail as a Good Samaritan.
We all fail. I work so hard to make myself God's servant, a follower, and minister of God's word. We all fail. It's hard to be a Good Samaritan. Sometimes the world puts so much in our way.
But there are so many ways to be a Good Samaritan, which is truly the Sign of Peace that we are all to share with those around us.
Pay attention to the needs of your family and community. The priest and Levite ignored a member of their family and community. But we can recognized the needs of our family and community through programs such as St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities, Diocesan Stewardship Appeal, Our House, Angel Ministries, and more. All they ask is that you do not cross to the other side of the road. The simplest of things like visiting someone in the hospital or nursing home, calling someone who is grieving, or even a smile to someone who is lonely is the mission of peace..
The greatest commandment lives in us. It is the kindness and goodness that God has placed in in our hearts. This is the peace we are asked to share. It is the peace that the Samaritan shared. "Christ tells is to go and do likewise." Don't let the world steal this from you. Don't let the robbers and thieves strip you of Christ's love and leave you naked to the world.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the man was robbed and beaten, stripped of his clothing, and left to the side of the road for dead. But I think the parable holds the truth that the one attacked was not the only victim. Jesus tells us of all the victims.
God's commandment is written on our hearts and this is the greatest commandment that Jesus talks about. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." Jesus adds "Love your neighbor as you love yourself," which is a continuation of the first part of the commandment. God is in your neighbor as part of God's creation.
By identifying this greatest commandment, Jesus reminds the lawyer of more. There are too many distractions in the World from this commandment. The lawyer would of known all that Moses said. The commandment is not a mystery you don't look to the sky, you don't look across the sea. It is in you and all you have to do is carry it out.
When the lawyers asks "Who is my neighbor?" He shows that even though he knows the commandment, he does not understand it. He has the expectations of the world distractions. This distractions make us all victims. Victims of sin.
Like the priest who was too worried about the Law. Every thing else that was written down, not God's greatest commandment written on his heart.
Like the Levite, a temple official who was too worried about the distraction to status. A distraction from what should have been written on his heart.
Both were victims of the robbery. It robbed them of the greatest commandment. The victim was stripped of everything that protected him from the outside world; but, the priest and levite were stripped of the love for God and their neighbor. Their souls left for dead.
How many of us can say we are truly the Good Samaritan? We all posse the love of Christ that makes us so full of kindness and goodness that we want to go out of our way to help our neighbors and bring comfort. Go our of our way to rid ourselves of intolerance and prejudice and bring justice to the poor. But, many of us have distractions that make us fail as a Good Samaritan.
We all fail. I work so hard to make myself God's servant, a follower, and minister of God's word. We all fail. It's hard to be a Good Samaritan. Sometimes the world puts so much in our way.
But there are so many ways to be a Good Samaritan, which is truly the Sign of Peace that we are all to share with those around us.
Pay attention to the needs of your family and community. The priest and Levite ignored a member of their family and community. But we can recognized the needs of our family and community through programs such as St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities, Diocesan Stewardship Appeal, Our House, Angel Ministries, and more. All they ask is that you do not cross to the other side of the road. The simplest of things like visiting someone in the hospital or nursing home, calling someone who is grieving, or even a smile to someone who is lonely is the mission of peace..
The greatest commandment lives in us. It is the kindness and goodness that God has placed in in our hearts. This is the peace we are asked to share. It is the peace that the Samaritan shared. "Christ tells is to go and do likewise." Don't let the world steal this from you. Don't let the robbers and thieves strip you of Christ's love and leave you naked to the world.
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