Today's reflection

Today we hear in the readings two of the arguably most well know stories from the Bible- the story of Jonah and the great fish and the parable of the good Samaritan. I think maybe there is just so much to talk about I have had a hard time picking just a few things.

Many people spend countless hours of their lives analyzing and deliberating over scripture to find out what exactly they need to do with their lives in order to inherit the gift of heaven. I always find this kind of thing funny. There are many places in the Bible where you can obtain evidence in order to draw some lengthy and complicated answer, but in the Gospel today, we get that answer plain and simple.

The man asks what he must do in order to obtain the gift of heaven. Jesus has him answer his own question. The man answers, and Jesus confirms, that we must “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s it. No thesis, no in depth analysis of countless Bible passages, no intense mental exercises, no debating required. Jesus tells us, through the lawyer, simply and exactly what we must do to obtain eternal life with Him in heaven.

That is the simple answer, but how that call by Jesus is lived by us is another thing entirely. The concept is simple, but the way that we fulfill it is not. Think about how much is involved in completely loving God and completely loving our neighbors. Then think about to what extent you do the things that show your love for God and neighbor. Or maybe a better way to look at it is to look at the things that do the opposite, the things that destroy your relationship with God and your fellow man.

To illustrate the point even further, Jesus conveys the parable of the good Samaritan. In the end, Jesus asks who was the neighbor to the man who was robbed. It was neither of the men of God, but in fact an ordinary person. This reminds us that all are able and called to act with compassion in the name of God, not just those who hold some sort of special title linking them to religious life. Jesus tells us that we must go and do as the Samaritan did, to live our lives in compassion and in service to others. I’m certain that this is the call the many of us here have heard and are answering.

And there is always a lot of talk around here of saying no, about how we must operate in the parameters of our schedule and the services that we make available to everyone. While adhering strictly to set rules and standards has merit, remember that there is some wiggle room in the system. The wiggle is called for by Jesus in his call to live with compassion. What we do has a certain amount of compassion, but we all know those cases in which we must provide more help and attention than we do on the average day. Say no, but remember that we must sometimes say yes to God and yes to our brothers and sisters.