A Message from Fr. Jay
Dear Friends,
The story of the Good Samaritan is a popular one. So many countries have even enacted laws after the name. This story does not speak about obtaining justice to the person left half-dead on the road by the robbers but in a subtle, yet strong way speaks about the responsibility of the spectators who play a major role in doing the justice of God. God’s justice is absolute love.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in his final speech the day before his assassination, he spoke about the Good Samaritan. The Levite and the Priest while turning away at the sight of the nearly dead man lying on the road, had some questions in their minds:
What will happen to me if I stop here to help this man? – Maybe there were hundreds of liability issues or fear of life and death running around in their minds. Whereas, the Good Samaritan had a different question: What will happen to the man lying on the road if I do not help him?
The world is now trained to think about me….me…and only me. What is needed is to train oneself to think about the other ‘him/her’, especially those in need. Respect for the poor, the vulnerable, the exploited and the powerless must be the prime concern to realize the justice of God.
With challenges of negativity in our social media, we are becoming more and more like the Levite and the Priest in the story, with internal fears, bigotry and helplessness. When we leave church, let us meet other people, mingle, appreciate them, share the joy, take part in their sorrow, help them mutually and recognize everyone else as our neighbor.
This weekend you may even want to say more than usual to those around you before and after Mass.
God Bless,
Fr. Jay Raju
Reading 1: Deuteronomy 30:10-14
Reading 2: Colossians 1:15-20
Gospel: Luke 10: 25-37
