Greater Than the Law

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 14 July 2019
First reading Deuteronomy 30:10-14

Moses said to the people:
“The Lord will again take delight in prospering you, when you obey the Lord your God by observing his commandments and decrees that are written in this book of the law, because you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

Surely, this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’ No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.”

Second reading                                                          Colossians 1:15-20

[Jesus Christ] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-all things have been created through him and for him.

He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

Gospel                                                                         Luke 10:25-37

A lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal lie?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

Wanting to justify himself, the lawyer asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Reflection

By Jose Paulo M. Gonzales

Who is my neighbor? Our neighbors, conveniently, are the ones who live close to us whom we can depend on in our time of need.

In the Gospel, the “neighbor” takes on a different definition. Our neighbor is the one who is in need.

The Gospel shares a story that is well-recognized in Christian households. It is the story of the good Samaritan.

The story tells how a Samaritan cared for someone who was supposedly his enemy—a Jew. The Samaritan’s help is more noteworthy when we consider the stakes at the time. A person who comes close to another who is ceremonially unclean is to be considered unclean himself for one to seven days, depending on the case.

In the story, the man lying on the road was left close to dead, his limbs likely incapacitated, his wounds teeming with blood, drawing heavy breaths—likely some of his last breaths.

The priests and Levites hold special roles in the sacred rites. At a time when the law is clear about what is to be considered clean and unclean and with the holy to be always observed for cleanliness, the two must have thought it was a great risk to help their neighbor lying frailly on the road.

The Samaritan could have thought it was unclean to help a dying man on the road. He could have considered how the community would isolate him and bar him from participating in the religious rituals when they’ve learned of how he helped a Jew. But the good Samaritan stopped nonetheless, bandaged his neighbor’s wounds, and poured oil and wine on them (Luke 10:34).

He looked after his brother and even paid for his stay at an inn. All these made the Samaritan’s help magnanimously worthy of praise.

This story is special because it reveals to us what God truly values. At a time when the law, the Torah, was seen by the Israelites as absolute, Jesus came to qualify and tell us that there’s more to following the Lord than the rigid observance of the law.

“The law is good, perfect and holy but cannot help you be good, perfect or holy” (Romans 7:7-12). “The law reveals sin but cannot fix it” (Romans 3:20). “Christians are not under the law” (Romans 6:14). “Christians have been delivered from the law” (Romans 7:1-6).

It is all thanks to Jesus that we now have a Champion to deliver us from the law. As a reminder, Jesus came to fulfill the law, not to throw it away. He came as the New Covenant, to reveal to us that while the law is good and is meant to be followed, there is something greater than the law which is love.

Jesus calls us to exceed the minimum requirement of being a Christian. That is to surpass the laws, especially the ceremonial, and to extend love to our neighbor in need like what the good Samaritan did; “for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law” (Romans 13:8).

How do we know that we rightly understood our freedom from the law? We know that we understand this liberty well not when we delight at having nothing to follow, but when we realize that the law is good and is meant to be followed.  It does not bar us from doing what we are called to do most which is to love our neighbor.

Do we understand how bottomless the depth of God’s love is? He could have stopped at us glorifying Him with our observance of the law, but instead, He sent His Son to free us from it, so we can go beyond it and exercise a greater virtue that fosters our common betterment. This virtue is love, which “does no harm to a neighbor […] Love is the fulfillment of the law” (Romans 13:10).

This is the God we serve. A God of love, who calls us to love our neighbor not only because we can depend on them in our need, but so they can depend on us, on Him, in their needs.

Prayer

Thank You, God, for being a God of love to us, that even though we could not add anymore to Your glory for You are perfect, complete, and eternal because we are miniscule, humble limited beings compared to You, You still sent down Your Son to free us from sin and eternal death.

Thank You, God, that although we do not deserve Your goodness, our common betterment is still so essential to You that You imparted with us to love our neighbors as You love us.

Thank You for everything, Lord.

May You help us to love others as You love us, to tend to them as what the good Samaritan did.

May we be inspired in thinking that when we render our service for others, we show others Your face, too.

Please help us, Lord, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.