MY daily reflection and prayer:
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Dear my friends,
Here is the Gospel for us today according to St. Luke 10:25-37
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.
***
THE Gospel reading today proclaims to us about Jesus Christ who tells us the parable of the Good Samaritan. It is so familiar to us. We often see only one of its dimensions that is its presentation of a model for us to imitate the good Samaritan.
Jesus Christ reminds us that we should be striving to follow what good Samaritan has done. He loves his neighbor, even somebody who are broken, wounded and left on the side of road to die. Each of us has been robbed of our original holiness by original sin. Sins have deeply wounded our souls and our lives. We have been bruised, broken and wounded.
Let’s today reflect on another dimension of this parable. In fact, the Good Samaritan is, above all, Jesus Christ himself. This parable is a self-portrait of Jesus and what he has done for us all without discrimination.
Let’s realize that we surely are like the man left on the side of road to die. Each of us has been robbed of our original holiness by original sin. Sins have deeply wounded our souls and our lives. We have been bruised, broken and wounded by life in a sinful world.
In such situation, we lay on the side of life’s path in need of a Savior. Jesus Christ is the only Good Samaritan for us through his incarnation and his suffering to die on the cross for us. He comes to us like the Good Samaritan.
In the Perpetual Adoration of the Eucharist we worship Jesus Christ, the merciful Lord who heals and restores us with the oil and wine of his sacraments. Even, he pays for our salvation with his own sacrifice on the cross at Calvary. Do we realize that Jesus Christ is more than the good Samaritan for us? Have we done the great commandment: “love your neighbor as yourself”?
Let’s pray: Lord Jesus Christ, you commands us to be good Samaritans to one another, it’s only because you have walked the path ahead of us. You give us a crystal clear explanation of loving our neighbor as ourselves. May we do it that we will live a worthy, meaningful, and fruitful life now and forever. Amen.
Kredit foto: Ilustrasi (Ist)
