Today’s readings present us with the essentials of a quality life. Moses assures his people that doing things God’s way is the secret to a satisfying life of growth and fulfilment. The reading from the letter to the Colossians points to Christ as the model of our way to God, the ultimate Goodness, and the parable of the Good Samaritan reminds us that reaching out to others with compassion is how we rise to our calling as followers of Christ.
Deuteronomy 30:10-14 In this passage there is a telling revelation of the way human nature works. We do something out of selfishness, reflect on our action and regret our immaturity. If we have hurt somebody with a word or our behaviour, we apologise and seek pardon and reconciliation. We may be thankful that pardon is freely and generously given. But the next step is, ‘What are we going to do about it? What steps are we going to take to bring about real change?’ So many texts in the Hebrew Bible portray God as ever willing to forgive and draw us in to the bounty of reconciliation. The proviso is that we return to God with all our heart, with all our inner being and with all our energy. This is committing to change from being self-serving to reaching out generously to others.
We can turn being generous, compassionate and giving service to others into a good habit In effect, the Deuteronomist, speaking for God, is saying, it is not all that hard to be fully onside with the Living Presence if we put our mind to it. The hard part is being fair dinkum and totally committed to God’s ways. Half-heartedness will get us nowhere. Being completely immersed in the spirituality of his Scriptures Jesus echoed the same approach when he said (and I am paraphrasing) ‘If you do it my way you will find deep peace in your inmost being, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light’ (Matthew 11:29-30). What did he mean by saying his burden is light? In practical terms it comes down to good habits. Being generous, compassionate and giving service to others can become a good habit, a natural part of our lifestyle, and so, less of an effort or strain since it becomes our ‘normal’.
Psalm 69 This is a lament psalm written by a poet who is undergoing deep suffering. He cannot understand why there are people who hate him and are persecuting him in their effort to bring him down. This psalm has often been seen as an allegory of the suffering Christ. Colossians 1:15-20 Scholars generally agree that all or part of these verses belong to a hymn that was inserted by the author of the letter as a homage to the person and work of Christ. The original Greek is marked by a rhythm and structure that identifies the passage as a poem.
The first section (vv. 15-17) is a verbal echo of the poem that portrays the role of Wisdom in creation. Wisdom was there in the beginning and it was through Wisdom that God created and established the cosmos. Wisdom is portrayed poetically in Proverbs as the feminine aspect of God that was the architect and agent of creation. So, the author of Colossians is alluding to the work of Wisdom and applying it to Christ. Later, the author of the Fourth Gospel picked up the same theme and wrote it into the Prologue of the gospel. In this case the writer referred to Christ as the human form of the Logos, that is, the creative word of God that brought everything into being. This puts the Colossians hymn chronologically between the poem of Wisdom in Proverbs and the richly symbolic prologue of John’s Gospel.
Today’s hymn is not addressed to Christ but is clearly a tribute to Christ, offering praise in acknowledgement of the unique person of Jesus and his part in the divine plan. Describing Christ as the image of the invisible God, the poet uses language that does not occur in the Jewish Scriptures, but is familiar enough in the Hellenistic language of the early Christian era. The spirituality of the Hebrew Bible understood that God was invisible but never actually expressed it in words.
The specifically Christian references occur in verses 18-20 where Jesus Christ is depicted as the head of the Christin community. This, in turn, echoes the language of Paul who described the community as the body of Christ with Christ at its head, Beyond the symbolism and the richness of the poetry in these verses the impact of the relational language is significant. Even though Christ is portrayed as a cosmic figure he is also the key spiritual figure for the local Colossian Christians. His service and the gift of himself are there for our inspiration and imitation. He is our pathway to God and the ultimate achievement of our potential as human beings on the journey to wholeness.
Luke 10:25-37 This episode of the conversation between the lawyer and Jesus is yet another example of the brilliance of Luke’s writing. The lawyer puts a question to Jesus and, like the consummate teacher Jesus comes back with a question that puts pressure on the lawyer to give an
answer. The lawyer responds correctly, and Jesus implies, ‘There you go, you have answered your own question.’ But to save face the lawyer asks, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ Again, Jesus shows his skill as a teacher and responds with the best medium for getting a message across – a story. In this case a made-up story, a parable. But this, of course, is a challenge parable. It challenges our assumptions, our social and cultural prejudices and the ‘truths’ we accept without seriously evaluating them.
I could imagine Jesus taking a half an hour or even longer to tell this story. There would be so much comment and interjection from the listeners that the telling might well have been spun out. In all the parables of Jesus there are usually one or more unlikely situations designed to catch the attention of the audience. Here we have a man making a journey on his own down the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, which is roughly a 40 km descent from 800m above sea level to 400m below Mediterranean Sea level. Nobody would be fool enough to make such a trip alone on a road infested with robbers. Jesus’s audience would be astounded and would quickly guess the outcome: it’s a safe bet this guy will be mugged and robbed. Sure enough he falls prey to brigands. He is assaulted, robbed, stripped and left for dead.
Next, the classical threes appear in the story. A Levite, an official of the temple passes by and skirts around the injured man, who appears either dead or unconscious. The Levite does not approach for fear of becoming ritually unclean by touching bleeding wounds or a corpse. He is not a bad man. But it is more than his job is worth to put his day on hold to help this man and become unclean. Likewise, a priest comes by and reacts like the Levite and not like a compassionate community leader.
Now comes the most unlikely scenario. A Samaritan enters the picture and straightaway is filled with compassion for a Jewish man that he has never met. He is the first character to have his feelings recorded. This is not possible. Jesus’ audience finds this unbelievable. And herein lies the challenge of the parable. The mixed race Samaritans are despised by Jews and the feeling is mutual. But this compassionate human being stops, applies first aid, loads the victim onto his donkey and takes him to an inn, where he continues his care and then pays the innkeeper to carry on looking after the man until his rescuer returns. Notice the job is not finished and the Samaritan plans to come back and hopefully see the victim through to recovery and back on his feet. Join the ranks of the ‘lifters’ Jesus’s final question to the lawyer is a king hit. Who was neighbour to the unfortunate victim? But the lawyer cannot bring himself to name the Samaritan. He says, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ And with a final cryptic comment Jesus says, ‘Go and behave in the same fashion and exercise the same level of compassion to every human being.’ For Jesus there are no boundaries to having respect for others. There is no situation in which we would not respond with compassion to help someone in need. Notice the dignity that Jesus accords every human individual. Nobody is ever undervalued. It is important that this parable does not become so familiar that we forget to apply it to daily living. Imagine how we could make someone’s day with a simple smile or ‘hello’. Join the ranks of the ‘lifters’ who daily make little efforts to give encouragement and be proactive in lifting burdens.
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For I have come not to be served, but to serve. Mark 10:45.
Reaching out to lift someone’s burden keeps depression at bay.
Anonymous
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Woman 3 minutes into her period of meditation: ‘Come on inner peace. I haven’t got all day!’
by Laurie Woods