27th Week in Ordinary Time : Monday 5th October 2020

Paul was angry — some were preaching a gospel different from the one he gave his followers. He insisted that there was no other gospel. His gospel was one of release from sin’s bondage through faith in Jesus. It was a new age; the customs and practices of the previous era were to be left behind. Sometimes we want to go back to the past, to what was familiar. But to live is to change; when we stop, we begin to die spiritually.

The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us who our neighbour is and what love means in practice. Love is practical and hands-on — the Samaritan spends time, energy, and money on the victim simply because he was in need. They came from different communities that were not on speaking terms, but the man viewed the victim as his neighbour. He asked no questions and set no conditions — the man’s distress was enough.

There is only one humanity, and we should not confine ourselves to communities, ethnic groups, languages, or religions. Our neighbour is any human being, especially one in distress. As Jesus said, go and do likewise.

 Lord, help me be a neighbour to all I meet.