Homily for July 15, 2007 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today's Gospel, the Story of the Good Samaritan, is very familiar to us. In fact, it's so familiar that it's become comforting and a very comfortable story, and a very good example. But it wasn't that way in the beginning. I want to say, too, today's Gospel and next Sunday's Gospel form a pair that go together, and you have to hear them together to understand.
Next Sunday's Gospel is the story of Martha and Mary, and Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus. So you see, today's Gospel says "go and do." Next Sunday's Gospel says "sit and listen." Well, going and doing, and sitting and listening form a balanced pair in our life. We have to do both. If we just run out and do without sitting and listening, we're going to get in trouble. And if we just sit and listen and never do, we'll be in trouble.
And in both cases Luke makes the point by telling a story. But the stories of Jesus are not nice stories. They're not comfortable. They're not just sweet little pious examples. The stories of Jesus always take us out of our comfort zone.
For example in today's story he could have told a story about a good pious Jew that helped a man out who was in trouble. That would have been a nice story, but he didn't tell that story. He could have told a story about a priest who exemplified the commandment. I would have felt very good about that story. But Jesus didn't tell that story. He could have told a story about a scholar of the law who did what he was supposed to, but he didn't tell that story.
Instead he used as an example somebody that a devout Jew would not have liked. In fact, he used somebody that pious Jews looked down upon as people who were half breeds, who were heretics, who didn't keep the law.
My way of maybe making it relevant to you today is, think of yourself in trouble. Now, think of the person you would least want to be helped by. It could vary. And imagine Jesus telling you a story about the meaning of love where you're in trouble and that person you least want to be helped by comes to your rescue. Is that a nice story?
And, by the way - more about this next week - but the example of sitting and listening isn't a male disciple, but it's a woman who isn't in the kitchen where women belong, but who's sitting out among the men at the master's feet. Why would he tell a story like that? I'll leave you to speculate about Jesus' motive. But you see, in every case when Jesus tells a story, he takes us out of our comfort zone. And, anyway, I hope you can feel that.
And then, what does this story call us to do? Last week I heard 25 different homilies on this Gospel. We were down at St. Meinrad with our deacon candidates, and it was their week to learn to preach. And each one of them had to give a homily on this Gospel, and their homilies were videotaped and critiqued. So I won't summarize 25 different homilies.
What I will summarize is a point that one of the instructors, not me, pointed out to them, and that is when people are learning how to preach, they often say, "you ought to," or "you should," or "you must," or "the Gospel tells us to." Do you know what I mean? And this instructor said, "Where is the good news in that? I mean, where's the good news in the Gospel?" And then he suggested a slight shift in thinking. What if we read this Gospel, and instead of saying, "You ought to," what if we read it and say "you are free to?"
Now, I'd like to look at the Samaritan that way. There are times in my life, and I'm sure there are times in your life, but there are times when I'm like the lawyer, when I approach life trying to justify myself, when I approach life trying to protect myself, when I approach life from my ego, or when I approach life through the law.
There are times in my life when people have asked me what I think, and I respond by saying what the Bible says, or what the church says, or what somebody else has said, and they say, "But what do you say?"
And there are times when I am free to respond to what is there from a wellspring of love and compassion that is already within me. Can you feel the difference in your own life? Do you know what I mean? Can you think of a time when you've responded from your ego, or from your head, or from social convention, or from the rules, and can you think of a time when you've responded from the depth of compassion in your heart?
Moses tells people in the first reading, he says - I'm going to summarize it in a different way - basically, what Moses is saying in the first reading is, "You know, it's not rocket science. You don't have to go to school for 20 years to learn what to do. You don't have to read a book, you don't have to go to a lecture. It's already there in your heart. All you have to do is do it."
And anyway, I think as I reflect on the Gospel today, what it stimulates in me as I move back to the altar is a very simple prayer, that I might be touched by God's grace and that I might find in my life the freedom to respond to the reality around me in a very simple and direct way, from the wellspring of grace and love and compassion that God has already placed in my heart.
Next Sunday's Gospel is the story of Martha and Mary, and Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus. So you see, today's Gospel says "go and do." Next Sunday's Gospel says "sit and listen." Well, going and doing, and sitting and listening form a balanced pair in our life. We have to do both. If we just run out and do without sitting and listening, we're going to get in trouble. And if we just sit and listen and never do, we'll be in trouble.
And in both cases Luke makes the point by telling a story. But the stories of Jesus are not nice stories. They're not comfortable. They're not just sweet little pious examples. The stories of Jesus always take us out of our comfort zone.
For example in today's story he could have told a story about a good pious Jew that helped a man out who was in trouble. That would have been a nice story, but he didn't tell that story. He could have told a story about a priest who exemplified the commandment. I would have felt very good about that story. But Jesus didn't tell that story. He could have told a story about a scholar of the law who did what he was supposed to, but he didn't tell that story.
Instead he used as an example somebody that a devout Jew would not have liked. In fact, he used somebody that pious Jews looked down upon as people who were half breeds, who were heretics, who didn't keep the law.
My way of maybe making it relevant to you today is, think of yourself in trouble. Now, think of the person you would least want to be helped by. It could vary. And imagine Jesus telling you a story about the meaning of love where you're in trouble and that person you least want to be helped by comes to your rescue. Is that a nice story?
And, by the way - more about this next week - but the example of sitting and listening isn't a male disciple, but it's a woman who isn't in the kitchen where women belong, but who's sitting out among the men at the master's feet. Why would he tell a story like that? I'll leave you to speculate about Jesus' motive. But you see, in every case when Jesus tells a story, he takes us out of our comfort zone. And, anyway, I hope you can feel that.
And then, what does this story call us to do? Last week I heard 25 different homilies on this Gospel. We were down at St. Meinrad with our deacon candidates, and it was their week to learn to preach. And each one of them had to give a homily on this Gospel, and their homilies were videotaped and critiqued. So I won't summarize 25 different homilies.
What I will summarize is a point that one of the instructors, not me, pointed out to them, and that is when people are learning how to preach, they often say, "you ought to," or "you should," or "you must," or "the Gospel tells us to." Do you know what I mean? And this instructor said, "Where is the good news in that? I mean, where's the good news in the Gospel?" And then he suggested a slight shift in thinking. What if we read this Gospel, and instead of saying, "You ought to," what if we read it and say "you are free to?"
Now, I'd like to look at the Samaritan that way. There are times in my life, and I'm sure there are times in your life, but there are times when I'm like the lawyer, when I approach life trying to justify myself, when I approach life trying to protect myself, when I approach life from my ego, or when I approach life through the law.
There are times in my life when people have asked me what I think, and I respond by saying what the Bible says, or what the church says, or what somebody else has said, and they say, "But what do you say?"
And there are times when I am free to respond to what is there from a wellspring of love and compassion that is already within me. Can you feel the difference in your own life? Do you know what I mean? Can you think of a time when you've responded from your ego, or from your head, or from social convention, or from the rules, and can you think of a time when you've responded from the depth of compassion in your heart?
Moses tells people in the first reading, he says - I'm going to summarize it in a different way - basically, what Moses is saying in the first reading is, "You know, it's not rocket science. You don't have to go to school for 20 years to learn what to do. You don't have to read a book, you don't have to go to a lecture. It's already there in your heart. All you have to do is do it."
And anyway, I think as I reflect on the Gospel today, what it stimulates in me as I move back to the altar is a very simple prayer, that I might be touched by God's grace and that I might find in my life the freedom to respond to the reality around me in a very simple and direct way, from the wellspring of grace and love and compassion that God has already placed in my heart.
Labels: Homilies
posted by Fr. Larry Voelker at
5:28 AM
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