Homily for July 14

My first Sunday at St. Joseph Parish, Belmont

Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Scriptures for today's Mass

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If this were time for true confessions,

I might share with you some of the times in my life

when, like the priest in Jesus' story,

I've passed by people in need, ready with at least a dozen reasons

to excuse myself for not having reached out.

More embarrassing than that, would be how many times

I've passed by the suffering of others because I didn't see it,      

because I was in a hurry…    I had a meeting to go to…    

I was tired from a long day…

I was on my way to help someone else in need…

I had more important things on my mind

and more important things to do…

In Jesus' story, two guys, the priest and the Levite,

actually cross the street to avoid dealing

with a poor man, half-dead on the side of the road,

bleeding from a brutal bruising.

And I can't help but wonder… 

if Jesus were telling this story today,

might he have added one more character

to the list of those making their way down the road to Jericho.

I can imagine Jesus saying,

"And likewise, there came that way

a generous and good-hearted traveler who passed right by

- so engrossed was he in texting on his cell phone."

So, a priest, a Levite - and a texter…   And us…

How many times have you and I "crossed the street"

to avoid encountering another's needs?

How often have we stayed at home / turned our heads /

not returned a call / pushed situations out of our minds

and distracted ourselves from the suffering of others,

because we're in a hurry…. we don't want to get involved…

we've got a meeting, a rehearsal, a practice or a game to go to….

we're tired from a long day…

we convince ourselves it's not our responsibility…

we're on our way to help someone else in need…

we gave at the office!

we helped someone in need just yesterday…

we trust that someone else will tend to the situation…

we've got more important things on our minds --

and we really have to reply to that text…

But back to Jesus' story and his conversation with the lawyer. 

In the end, who turns out to be the hero here? 

The most unlikely candidate of all -- a Samaritan!  

In Jesus' day the Samaritans' hatred of the Jews was equaled only

by how much the Jews despised the Samaritans.

So, this Samaritan isn't just someone who helps others in need.

No, this Samaritan is called good because he:

- reaches out to help his enemy

- he stops to give comfort to someone he detests

a lowlife outsider.

And THIS is precisely where the rubber of the gospel

hits that road going down from Jerusalem to Jericho.

This is precisely where Jesus proposes for our consideration

the over-the-top, generous outreach of the good Samaritan 

as the measure of the depth

of how much you and I love the Lord, our God

with all our heart, all our being, all our strength and all our mind

AND, the depth of our love of our neighbor -

especially when our neighbor is in trouble.

After telling the story

of how the priest and the Levite and the Samaritan

dealt with the suffering of the man on the road, Jesus asks,

"Which of these three, in your opinion

was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"

DUH!

You don't need a law degree from Harvard to figure that one out!

What's much harder to figure out is:

• just when do I need to reach out to those in need - and how often?

• how far do I need to go in helping someone in need?

• how much of myself do I need to give in loving God and others?

• do I need to reach out and help someone

I don't judge to be deserving or worthy of assistance?

• do I need to reach out to someone who has hurt me?

- someone I don't want to be responsible for?

- someone I think should really help himself?

Those are tough questions, no doubt about it.

But I believe today's first reading hints at how to answer them.

Recall the words of Deuteronomy: the answer isn't

"up in the sky or across the sea, it's something very near to you,

already in your heart, in your mouth - you have only to carry it out."

And how do we carry it out?  Like the good Samaritan:

by loving our neighbor / embracing the stranger /

and reaching out to those who live in the margins.

And where do we begin?  How do we get started?

We might begin with a simple 5-word slogan from 12 step programs:

DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING!  DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING!

When you and I are making our way from "Jerusalem down to Jericho,"

or from the kitchen table to the living room,

or from our homes to the office or to school or the playground

or from work to vacation / or from the front door to Star Market

or from relationship to relationship / or from temptation to decision

or from yesterday to today / or from today to tomorrow

how about if we pray for the help to DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING,

to instinctively, and increasingly by habit,

DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING.

• Imagine if the priest and the Levite, like the Samaritan,

had done the next right thing…

• Imagine how different things would be

if all the times you and I have passed by and ignored

the sufferings of others

how different things would be

if only we had done the next right thing…

• Imagine the deep satisfaction that might be ours

in yearning and learning to do the next right thing…

And the next right thing is already in our hearts and in our mouths

- on the tip of our tongues - we have only to do it…

Well, the next right thing for us to do is to go to the Lord's Table

where Jesus waits to reach out to us, to care for us

and, once again, in the Bread and Cup of the Eucharist,

to spend, not his money, but his life for us,

just as he did on the Cross, making peace for us with God.

May the sacrament of this altar

nourish and strengthen us in the week ahead

to do the next right thing…

           

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