July 9, 2010
Sunday Scripture
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
BY FATHER DONALD DILGER
A Scripture scholar approaches Jesus with a question much debated at the time, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” In the style of the times Jesus responds with a counter-question, “What is written in the Torah? What do you read there?” The scholar responds with the great profession of faith known to every observant Jew as it should be known to and practiced by every observant Christian, “You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole being, with all your strength, and with your whole mind,” (Deuteronomy 6:5.)
The answer was not yet complete. The scholar added the words of Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” For those who insist the latter command is impossible, it helps to understand it thru the Golden Rule in its negative (biblical) form, “Do not do unto others what you would not want done to you.” Jesus compliments the scholar, “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live,” (presumably “live” with eternal life). After all, the original question was concerned with eternal life. This is the introduction to a widely known parable, the Good Samaritan. He is called the “Good Samaritan” because the popular opinion among the Jews of Jesus’ time would have been that “good” was not an acceptable adjective to describe a Samaritan. We know from personal experience that centuries-long prejudices are difficult to overcome.
Some roots of the antagonism between Jews and Samaritans: in 721 B.C., the Assyrian army conquered Samaria, the northern kingdom, deported many of the people, and imported other people from the East. This movement of peoples produced a racial mix and probably a mix of religions. Thus the southerners suspected the Samaritans of idolatry. They were impure in race, impure in religious observance. When the Babylonians conquered the southern kingdom, Judea, in 587 B.C. many leading Judeans were deported into the Kingdom of Babylon (today Iraq). When the Persians conquered the Babylonians, the Persians allowed the Judeans to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple of the Lord. The Samaritans wanted to help, but rebuffed by the Judeans, tried to hinder the rebuilding of the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. In 128 B.C. the Judean high priest/king invaded Samaria and destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim.
Jesus speaks this parable in response to the Scripture scholar’s question, “So who is my neighbor? A traveler was on the dangerous route from Jerusalem down to Jericho, a distance of about 11 miles NW of Jerusalem in the Jordan Valley. Robbers waylaid him, stripped him, and beat him. A priest and a Levite (a number two clergyman) saw the unfortunate man but crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Samaritan was on the same route. When he saw the man, he felt compassion, took care of his wounds and took him to a local inn, and paid for his lodging. The question: “Who was neighbor to the helpless man lying on the road? The Scripture scholar, true to his prejudice against the hated Samaritans, cannot say the “S” word (Samaritan), but replies, “The one who showed mercy to him.” Jesus’ answer, “Go and do likewise.”
There is an interesting parallel to this story in the life of the great Ghandi. In a racially motivated riot between Muslims and Hindus after the partition of India and Pakistan, a Hindu man killed a Muslim child. Troubled by his conscience, he approached Ghandi for advice. Ghandi’s advice to this now devout Hindu, “Adopt a Muslim orphan and raise him as a devout Muslim.” Both stories, the Good Samaritan and the troubled Hindu teach the importance, even necessity, of laying aside prejudice and reaching across boundaries. We may ask ourselves, “Who are the ‘Samaritans’ in our lives? Who are the people against whom we are prejudiced for whatever reason?”
Echoing today’s gospel, the reading begins with an invitation to observe the commandments of the Torah, “with your whole heart and with your whole soul.” The words of the Torah assure us that God’s commandments are neither too difficult nor too far away for us to grasp them. “The word is very near to you, in your mouth, in your heart, so that you can do it.” Let this sentence describe our own knowledge of the “word,” our Scriptures.
This reading is an ancient hymn, probably in honor of divine wisdom. It is not necessarily Christian in origin, but adopted by the author of Colossians and adapted to serve the instructional purposes of the whole letter. In its Christian form one might call this poem a “Hymn in Praise of the Cosmic Christ.” Much of the imagery used in the hymn is lifted from the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament, especially from the Book of Proverbs, chapter eight. The author of Colossians seems to aim at the divisions between Jew and Gentile in the Church of Colossae, also at traditions and practices of other religions creeping into the teachings and practice of Christianity.