By Father Paul Nord, Sunday Scripture
First Reading: Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Response: Psalm 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36-37; Second Reading: Colossians 1:15-20; Gospel: Luke 10:25-37
The book of Deuteronomy is primarily a speech by Moses in which he prepares the Israelites for entering into the Promised Land. God has decreed that Moses shall not enter the land with them. In this speech, Moses tells the Israelites that they must “heed the voice of the LORD, your God, and keep his commandments and statutes that are written in this book of the law” (30:10). If they do, then they will have a long life and prosper.
The remaining verses emphasize that God’s command is not unknown to us. God’s command is not “in the sky” or “across the sea,” such that we could not know it. Instead, the challenge is “to carry it out.” God’s command is “already in your mouths and in your hearts.” But we must do as God has commanded.
The Responsorial (Psalm 69) is a plea for help. The psalmist calls upon the Lord God: “I pray to you, O Lord . . . answer me.” The psalmist praises God’s “great kindness,” his “constant help,” and his “great mercy.”
In the second stanza, the psalmist describes the reason that he pleads for God’s help: “I am afflicted and in pain.” Trusting that God will answer his prayer, the psalmist vows: “I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving.” This line is addressed to the congregation — a change from previous lines. This continues in the third stanza, which begins: “See, you lowly ones, and be glad.” These lines are addressed to the poor and “you who seek God.” The fourth stanza insists that “God will save Zion” for his people.
Next, Paul’s letter to the Colossians gives a powerful statement of the identity of Christ Jesus (1:15-20). This passage can be divided into two parts. Notice the description of Jesus as “the firstborn of all creation” in 1:15 and as “the firstborn from the dead” in 1:18. Verses 1:15-17 describe Jesus as collaborating with God the Father in creating all things. That includes everything “in heaven and on earth” and “the visible and the invisible.” Then 1:18-20 describe Jesus’ triumph over death — accomplished through his Incarnation, Death and Resurrection. Thus, Jesus acted “to reconcile all things” with God. Like in the first section, “all things” include “those on earth” and “those in heaven.” Jesus has made “peace by the blood of his cross” for all of creation.
In today’s Gospel, “a scholar of the law” seeks “to test Jesus.” So, he asks: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Instead of answering, Jesus asks the law scholar for his answer. In this way, Luke’s account is different from Mark 12:28-31 and Matt 22:34-40, where Jesus answers the question himself.
Here in Luke 10:27, the law scholar begins by citing Deuteronomy 6:5 — “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind.” This is part of the “Shema” (6:4-5) — an essential Jewish prayer and confession of faith in the one true God. Observant Jews pray it twice per day. The prayer’s common name is its first word: “Shema” — which means “hear” or “listen.”
For the second commandment, the law scholar cites Leviticus 19:18: “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.” In this Leviticus verse, “neighbor” refers to fellow Israelites. Jesus praises the scribe for his answer: “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
The first commandment indicates that complete love of God is our proper response to God, because He has made himself “our God” by forming a covenantal relationship with us. If we do not love God in return, then we are failing to recognize the great love that God has shown for us by making a covenant with us. To the Israelites, God swore a covenantal oath: “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God” (Exodus 6:7). Now, we Christians recognize that God has established a new covenantal relationship with all who follow Christ Jesus. Thus, we should love God completely — heart, being, strength and mind.
But the law scholar asks Jesus “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus responds with what is commonly called “the Good Samaritan parable.” The distance from Jerusalem to Jericho is about 18 miles, and the road is characterized by rocky and desert-like terrain. Part of the route consists of a Roman road which you can still walk. The route also passes through the
“Wadi Qelt.” A “wadi” is a kind of ravine that is usually dry, except for during the rainy season when it can fill with water.
The road was dangerous to travel in Jesus’ time, and it remains dangerous to travel today. Several of my classmates and I walked the Jerusalem-to-Jericho route in December 2009. Traveling as a group of young men, we had no problems — but we were on our guard. We did upset a Bedouin family when we briefly traveled near the tent in which they lived. In Jesus’ parable, the assaulted man was apparently traveling alone — certainly a dangerous thing to do. Jesus’ audience would have known the dangers of traveling the Jerusalem-Jericho route.
The man is assaulted by robbers and left “half-dead.” The first two persons to pass along the road are a priest and then a Levite. Notice that they both “passed by on the opposite side” of the road. It is likely that they did this to avoid “ritual impurity,” which would result from them touching a dead body — because it appeared the assaulted man might be dead.
But the Samaritan is “moved with compassion” and thus helps the assaulted man. The Samaritan treats and bandages the man’s wounds — and guides his animal to carry the man to an inn for further care. Since Jews were suspicious of Samaritans, Jesus’ command to imitate the Samaritan likely flummoxed the law scholar.
Benedictine Father Paul Nord is a monk of St. Meinrad Archabbey, and teaches at St. Meinrad Seminary. His Sunday Scripture columns are © Father Paul Nord, O.S.B.