There was a scholar of the law who stood
up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in
reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your
being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as
yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you
will live.”
But because he wished to justify himself,
he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man fell victim
to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat
him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that
road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite
came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But
a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged
them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver
coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way
back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’
victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him,
“Go and do likewise.”
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Reflection:
How do we express our love for God and
neighbor?
It is by caring for those who are in
need no matter who they may be, for as long as they’re in need we should help
them. But there are those who are so withdrawn that even if they’re in need
they find it hard to ask for help or they will not ask for help. There are
people who are like them they’re in need but they don’t ask for help because of
low self-esteem and shyness.
What should we do? We have be
sensitive to their plight, we must not be stonehearted we should help without
being asked for help.
The question of the scholar of the law is
perhaps also our question before Jesus: How can we inherit eternal life? And
Jesus referred them to what was written in the law; Love of God and love of our
neighbor; these are the two keys to have eternal life.
Jesus further reinforced these two
teachings with a story of a man who was victimized by robbers. As he lay wounded
a priest followed by a Levite both prominent people simply passed by and did
not lift a finger to help him. Afterwards a Samaritan came and he surprisingly
helped the wounded man. Not content with helping him the Samaritan brought the
man to an inn to be properly nursed there.
It’s not enough to say, we love God and
our neighbors for these are mere words that are empty. We put life and meaning
to these two greatest commandments when we become like the compassionate
Samaritan in the gospel. – Marino J. Dasmarinas