The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary, today, challenge us to reevaluate our assessment of who we fail to treat as neighbours.
The Reading from the Book of Jonah tells of his deliverance to attend to the will of God.
* [1:1] Jonah, son of Amittai: a prophet of this name lived at the time of Jeroboam II (786–746 B.C.).
* [1:2] Great city: exaggeration is characteristic of this book; the word “great” (Heb. gadol) occurs fourteen times.
* [1:3] Tarshish: identified by many with Tartessus, an ancient Phoenician colony in southwest Spain; precise identification with any particular Phoenician center in the western Mediterranean is uncertain. To the Israelites it stood for the far west.
* [1:14] Aware that this disaster is a divine punishment on Jonah, the sailors ask that in ridding themselves of him they not be charged with the crime of murder. (Jonah, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)
The Response from Jonah is a song of thanksgiving.
* [2:3–10] These verses, which may have originally been an independent composition, are a typical example of a song of thanksgiving, a common psalm genre (e.g., Ps 116; Is 38:9–20). Such a song is relevant here, since Jonah has not drowned, and the imagery of vv. 4, 6 is appropriate. (Jonah, Chapter 2 |USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus recalls the Greatest Commandment and presents 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, n.d.)
Suzanne Braddock reviewed the cast of characters and asks:
Who do I see as the victim in my life, in today’s society? The homeless encampment I pass on my way to daily Mass? The woman refused care for her children so she can work to provide food for them? The one passed over for a job unjustly? The one shot in our society bent on revenge?
Who do I see as the priest? The one to whom rules trump charity? (touching human or animal blood makes one ritually impure)
Who do I see as the Levite? Probably the same rules held him back. What rules do I use to avoid acts of charity?
Who do I cast as the Samaritan? Who do I see as “foreign, other, to be avoided, despised”?
What figure in politics, my society, my religion could be cast as the victim, priest, Levite, or Samaritan?
A poor immigrant seeking safety is found bloody and near death by the side of the road. She looks dark-skinned, or maybe it’s just the blood. Too scary. I pass by. Don’t want to get involved. Miraculously, she rises, picks up her cross, looks at me with compassion, embraces me, and moves on. (Braddock, 2025)
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 asks who is the ultimate “Good Samaritan,” the greatest “neighbor” who tends to our wounds and rescues us at great personal expense?
It’s Jesus! Notice the delight Jesus takes as he describes the tenderhearted care the Samaritan lavishes upon the wounded man. He’s describing himself! Like the Samaritan, Jesus is eager to heal us. Undeterred by our condition, he tends our wounds, brings us to a place of shelter, and provides for our ongoing needs.
This is marvelous news! Jesus has not passed you by. So let him see your wounds. Allow him to wash you and heal you in his generous mercy. Receive his tender care. As you do, your heart will be filled with love and gratitude, and you will do just the thing that Jesus says will bring you eternal life: you will imitate your “Good Samaritan” and “go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).
“Lord, thank you for not turning away from me. Help me to ‘do likewise’ and become a ‘neighbor’ to the wounded people around me.” (Meditation on Luke 10:25-37, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes that, in the first reading, Jonah is called to go to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, a cruel conquer of Israel. God stopped the boat with a storm and they found Jonah responsible and he was thrown overboard and he was swallowed by fish and after three days vomited on the shore. The sign of Jonah is a three day “burial” like Jesus and also the immediate conversion that occurs in Nineveh. A scholar quizzes Jesus about the most important Law. Friar Jude connects the “Shema” cited by Jesus as heart to intelligence, being to our soul under attack, strength to physical possessions, and mind to conscience. and the Good Samaritan defines “neighbour” for the scholar. The Jerusalem to Jericho road is very dangerous. The Priest and Levite were afraid of ambush or ritual impurity. The hero, an impure Samaritan. is the true neighbour. Friar Jude underlines Jesus' recognition of the one with mercy. The Gospel of Luke reaches out to the anawim, the poor ones of Yahweh.
Fr. Mike Schmitz offers a brief recap of today’s chapter from Nehemiah, identifying the difference between those who were able to live in Jerusalem and those who were not. He explains the ancestral gifts that each tribe of Israel received and applies this concept to the vices and virtues of our families, as well as our freedom to adopt or reject them. Today we read from Nehemiah 11, Esther 8, 16, and Proverbs 21:17-20.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Brian McLaren who reflects on Jesus’ Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:15–21) as a critique of our reliance on money for security.
Every system of self-centered civilization with its barns and banks for hoarding will inevitably collapse, the story of the rich fool reminds us. Meanwhile, … the divine ecosystem of interdependence and sharing, the holy and harmonious arrangement of life in which wildflowers and ravens live and thrive … it goes on. That’s where to put your heart. That’s where to invest your inner energies:
Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also [Luke 12:32–34]….
So, Jesus says, liquidate your capitol in the fragile, failing human system. Reinvest your energies in the larger-than-human system of life. That’s why loving your neighbors, especially your poor neighbors, is so important. Better to have less stored in your bank account and more given to those in need. Better to be poor in money and rich in generous relationships…. If you love God and neighbor, you love what matters … unlike the rich fool, who loved only himself and his money…. (Rohr, n.d.)
We seek the inspiration of the Spirit to translate the emphasis in Luke’s Gospel of Jesus call to be merciful and caring to the anawim to action in our environment.
References
Braddock, S. (2025, October 6). Daily Reflection October 6, 2025 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved October 6, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-october-6-2025
Jonah, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 6, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jonah/1?1
Jonah, Chapter 2 |USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Retrieved October 6, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jonah/2?3
Luke, CHAPTER 10. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved October 6, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/10?25
Meditation on Luke 10:25-37. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved October 6, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/10/06/1402296/
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved October 6, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/redefining-security/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Go and Do Likewise. Daily Scripture Net. Retrieved October 6, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=oct6
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