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“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.” Luke 10:27
A scribe asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.
Jesus asked the scribe what the Law of Moses taught. The above line
was the scribe’s response. He was essentially quoting Deuteronomy
6:4, which was a common prayer prayed by the Jews and seen as a
summary of the entire Law of Moses as found in the Ten
Commandments.
Notice that this summary of the Law does not present a negative
prohibition such as “Thou shalt not…” Instead, it is a positive
command stating, “Thou shalt love…” Love is the fulfillment of the
Law of the Old Testament, as well as the fulfillment of the New Law
of Christ. When we love God with our whole being, that love
overflows upon all of God’s creatures, including our
neighbor.
In this Gospel, the scribe goes on to ask Jesus who His neighbor
is. Jesus responds by telling the Parable of the Good Samaritan. In
that parable, there was a man beaten and left for dead on the side
of the road. A priest and a Levite passed by and ignored the man.
But a Samaritan passed by and took care of the man, bringing him to
an inn and vowing to pay for his recovery. The story concludes by
the Samaritan being identified as the one who acted as a neighbor
to the victim.
Traditionally, the victim of the robbers in this story has been
seen as Adam. Adam represents fallen humanity. The Samaritan
represents Jesus who cared for fallen humanity, healed us of sin
and provided for our every need. Therefore, according to this
parable, Jesus has acted as a neighbor to us, and we must love Him
as we love ourselves. But Jesus also says, “Go and do likewise.”
This is a commission to fallen humanity, now healed of sin, to go
forth to others, acting as Jesus Himself, bringing the healing
grace they have been given and bestowing it upon others
generously.
Sometimes we can see love as a feeling or emotion. Though love is
often accompanied by certain emotions and feelings, love is much
more. It is an action. In this parable, if the Samaritan simply
looked upon the victim and felt sorry for him, had compassion for
him but then moved on, he would not have shown love. The love of
charity is an action and requires much of us. If we are to fulfill
this first and greatest commandment of love of God and neighbor,
then we cannot wait until we feel like loving to act. Instead, we
must act now and not hesitate. This is love.
Reflect, today, upon the true nature of love. Love, in its most
elevated form, is the choice to do what is best for others—to help
free them from sin and to be an instrument of God’s providence in
their lives. It’s a participation in the very love that God has
shown us in Christ Jesus by giving His life for our salvation. We
are all called to devote ourselves to this same form of selfless
and sacrificial love. Doing so is a requirement for the glorious
sharing in eternal life.
My loving Lord, You have given everything to fallen humanity.
You have freed us from sin and provided for all of our needs. You
have acted as a true neighbor in every way. Please give me the
grace I need to imitate You and to participate in the love You have
for others. May I truly act and never hesitate to bestow on others
the charitable love to which I am called. Jesus, I trust in
You.
Image: African depiction of "The Good Samaritan" by Tim Kubacki,
license CC BY 2.0
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