The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today alert us to forces that present alternate truths to the Gospel and to our Baptismal anointing as priest, prophet, and leader for all God’s Creation.
The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Galatians declares there is no other Gospel and expresses Paul’s vindication of his apostleship.
* [1:1–5] See note on Rom 1:1–7, concerning the greeting.
* [1:1] Apostle: because of attacks on his authority in Galatia, Paul defends his apostleship. He is not an apostle commissioned by a congregation (Phil 2:25; 2 Cor 8:23) or even by prophets (1 Tm 1:18; 4:14) but through Jesus Christ and God the Father.
* [1:2] All the brothers: fellow believers in Christ, male and female; cf. Gal 3:27–28. Paul usually mentions the co-sender(s) at the start of a letter, but the use of all is unique, adding weight to the letter. Galatia: central Turkey more likely than the Roman province of Galatia; see Introduction.
* [1:4] The greeting in v. 3 is expanded by a christological formula that stresses deliverance through the Lord Jesus from a world dominated by Satan; cf. 2 Cor 4:4; Eph 2:2; 6:12.
* [1:6–10] In place of the usual thanksgiving (see note on Rom 1:8), Paul, with little to be thankful for in the Galatian situation, expresses amazement at the way his converts are deserting the gospel of Christ for a perverted message. He reasserts the one gospel he has preached (Gal 1:7–9) and begins to defend himself (Gal 1:10).
* [1:6] The one who called you: God or Christ, though in actuality Paul was the divine instrument to call the Galatians.
* [1:8] Accursed: in Greek, anathema; cf. Rom 9:3; 1 Cor 12:3; 16:22.
* [1:10] This charge by Paul’s opponents, that he sought to conciliate people with flattery and to curry favor with God, might refer to his mission practices (cf. 1 Cor 9:19–23) but the word still suggests it refers to his pre-Christian days (cf. Gal 1:14; Phil 3:6). The self-description slave of Christ is one Paul often uses in a greeting (Rom 1:1). (Galatians, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 111 offers praise for God’s Wonderful Works
* [Psalm 111] A Temple singer (Ps 111:1) tells how God is revealed in Israel’s history (Ps 111:2–10). The deeds reveal God’s very self, powerful, merciful, faithful. The poem is an acrostic, each verse beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. (Psalms, PSALM 111 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus relates the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
* [10:25–37] In response to a question from a Jewish legal expert about inheriting eternal life, Jesus illustrates the superiority of love over legalism through the story of the good Samaritan. The law of love proclaimed in the “Sermon on the Plain” (Lk 6:27–36) is exemplified by one whom the legal expert would have considered ritually impure (see Jn 4:9). Moreover, the identity of the “neighbor” requested by the legal expert (Lk 10:29) turns out to be a Samaritan, the enemy of the Jew (see note on Lk 9:52).
* [10:25] Scholar of the law: an expert in the Mosaic law, and probably a member of the group elsewhere identified as the scribes (Lk 5:21).
* [10:31–32] Priest…Levite: those religious representatives of Judaism who would have been expected to be models of “neighbor” to the victim pass him by. (Luke, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB, n.d.)
Kent Beausoleil, S.J comments that Jesus, in our Gospel Luke reveals that living out our faith, seeing the light of that divine love, in the Gospel stories and parables, are also about holiness and that being holy in no small way is about being merciful as God is merciful.
So, we celebrate today as a worshiping community the devotion that is the Rosary, as we celebrate Our Lady’s Rosary for in that devotional, we meditate on, we come to know, more deeply, the great mysteries, the great stories, of our salvation. We profess and hold firm that the Eucharist is the Source and Summit of our faith, but we also give thanks that the Church is filled with a myriad of so many ways, so many devotionals, to teach us and to feed our faith as we live out our spiritual journey. I know, at least for me, that in those devotionals, a young child, me, caught belief, catching me. (Beausoleil, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “God desires to be our neighbor,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"God our Lord wished to be called our neighbor. The Lord Jesus Christ meant that he was the one who gave help to the man lying half-dead on the road, beaten and left by the robbers. The prophet said in prayer, 'As a neighbor and as one's own brother, so did I please' (Psalm 34:14 ). Since the divine nature is far superior and above our human nature, the command by which we are to love God is distinct from our love of our neighbor. He shows mercy to us because of his own goodness, while we show mercy to one another because of God's goodness. He has compassion on us so that we may enjoy him completely, while we have compassion on another that we may completely enjoy him. (excerpt from CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTION 33) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 10:25-37 comments that due to our upbringing and environment, we have all inherited prejudices against one group or another. Moreover, our own hurts or misunderstanding can lead us to reject or look down on a person or group that is different from us. But Jesus wants us to see even these people as our neighbors.
As you reflect on this parable, ask the Lord whom you might see as the “Samaritans” in your life. Perhaps it’s someone in your neighborhood whom everyone shuns. Perhaps it’s someone at your office or school whose views or lifestyle you disagree with. It might even be someone in your own family who has earned the reputation of being the black sheep. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how he sees them: they are created in God’s image, just like you. They are affected by sin, just like you. And they need God’s mercy, just like you. Be open to the voice of the Spirit as he teaches you how to “go and do likewise” by being a neighbor to them.
“Lord, help me to see and love your image in everyone.” (Meditation on Luke 10:25-37, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the anger of Paul that some Jewish Christian missionaries were teaching a false Gospel that was contrary to the freedom of the people of God that Paul had received in a Divine revelation. Concern about ritual impurity or ambush may have motivated the abandonment of the injured man that the Samaritan stopped to support for his healing. Friar Jude underlines the “zinger” that calls us to treat all people with sacred respect as our neighbour.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares his deepening understanding of the relationship between tragedy, tears, and joy.
I keep being more and more convinced that tears are an appropriate response to reality. I think they always will be, yet I don’t equate that with modern depression or cynicism. It’s the acceptance of what we cannot change that normally makes people cry: He’s dead forever; I’m never getting well; the church I love has never been perfect. The part of us that can surrender to that reality is somehow bright. Remember, God is always present in reality as it is, not merely as it should be. When we meet people who can smile in the presence of sadness, there’s a brightness about them—a clarity, a truth, and a freedom. (Rohr, n.d.)
We ask the Spirit to alert us to forces that seek to divide by trying to restrict our efforts to love and act for the benefit of others to people who we recognize as belonging to our tribe.
References
Beausoleil, K. (n.d.). Daily Reflection Of Creighton University's Online Ministries. OnlineMinistries. Retrieved October 7, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/100724.html
Galatians, CHAPTER 1 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/galatians/1?6
Luke, CHAPTER 10 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/10?25
Meditation on Luke 10:25-37. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved October 7, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/10/07/1098599/
Psalms, PSALM 111 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved October 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/111?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Brightness and Clarity. Retrieved October 7, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/brightness-and-clarity/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Go and Do Likewise. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved October 7, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=oct7
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