Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time / Msgr. Owen F. Campion
The Sunday Readings
The Book of Deuteronomy, the source of the first reading for Mass this weekend, is one of the first five books of the Bible, collectively called the Pentateuch, from the Greek word meaning “five.” These five books have been venerated for millennia as containing the revelation of God to Moses, the greatest of all the ancient Hebrew prophets.
In this reading, Moses speaks the word of God to the people on God’s behalf. He calls the people to obey God’s commandments, clearly telling them that no mere lip service, insincere motions or masquerade of devotion is acceptable. Again, speaking for God, Moses summons the people to heartfelt, honest and total dedication to God. Obeying commandments, therefore, becomes a visible expression of a genuine attitude of the soul.
Moses also makes clear to the people that God, while almighty and invisible, and neither human nor bound to the Earth, is aware of human lives and communicates with humans.
For its second reading, the Church for this weekend presents a passage from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians. Colossae was an important city in the Roman Empire in the southeastern corner of what is now Turkey. A Christian community had formed in Colossae, and its spiritual vitality was Paul’s concern that led to the writing of this epistle.
The reading builds on the revelation given centuries earlier by Moses and by other prophets. God is invisible. Mortals see God in the Lord Jesus. Jesus lived and breathed as a human. Risen and glorified, Jesus rules over all creation and over all creatures. He is the head of the Church. Discipleship means accepting Jesus and having an undiluted commitment to him.
The Church in Colossae, alive with the very life of the Holy Spirit, was more than a coincidental gathering of people verbally professing Jesus as Lord. It was the gathering of people bonded together in Jesus and actively living in the spirit of Jesus.
St. Luke’s Gospel provides a very basic concept of Christian theology in the final reading. Jesus said that the true disciple must love God above all things and must love neighbor as self. At times, people assume that this admonition was unique to the New Testament. It was not. Ancient Judaism concerned itself not only with outward manifestations of obedience to God and formal worship of him, but also with the deep intentions of the heart.
Historic belief among Hebrews, as evidenced in this weekend’s first reading, required a genuine commitment of the mind and heart to God.
This reading gives us the familiar and beautiful parable of the Good Samaritan, with its powerful message of the availability of God’s love to all and the impact that this love can bring to ordinary human life.
First-century Jews regarded Samaritans almost as incapable of holiness or goodness. Samaritans simply were no good. In this parable, Jesus taught that, whatever a Samaritan’s presumed or even real faults, he or she was a child of God, always able to do good, always entitled to respect.
Reflection
Through the years, many Americans have become less alert to prejudice—ethnic, religious, economic or whatever—but as evidenced sadly every day by
hate-filled actions and words, prejudice is not dead in this country. Just follow the news.
The story of the Good Samaritan has a message for American culture today. The story is relevant. So is the lesson.
No one is beyond Christ’s love or essentially bad. Every genuine Christian must act according to the example of Christ in this regard. They must follow the ancient admonition about loving others to the point of being inconvenienced or making a sacrifice. Christian love is not qualified, on occasion or compartmentalized.
This was Paul’s message. It is the Gospel of Jesus.
The Criterion will not have an issue next week due to its summer schedule. The reflection of Msgr. Owen Campion for Sunday, July 20, will be posted at
www.archindy.org/campion.†