15TH SUNDAY HOMILY OF THE ORDINARY TIME — YEAR C

15TH SUNDAY HOMILY OF THE ORDINARY TIME — YEAR C

HOMILY THEME: KEEPING GOD’S COMMANDMENT OF LOVE

BY: Fr. Celestine Muonwe

Deuteronomy 30:10-14, Colossians 1:15-20, Luke 10:25-37

The first reading, is historically and literary situated within the farewell address of Moses to the Israelites as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. Moses emphasizes the importance of obedience to God’s laws, which are seen as vital for the community’s well-being and prosperity in the land they are about to inherit. Firstly, there is fulfillment in such obedience: “You shall obey the LORD your God and keep His commandments and statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, and turn to Him with all your heart and with all your soul.”

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Secondly, the simplicity of God’s Commandments: “Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.” God’s commandments are not burdensome; they are designed for our good, insofar as we work with the Lord, that is, perpetually asking Him to help us keep them with His grace. Hence, we are encouraged to embrace His instructions with confidence, knowing that they are attainable and meant to enrich our lives.

Finally, the word of God is very near to us: “The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it.” God’s Word is not distant or inaccessible to us, but it is close and personal. We know from childhood, in the Catechism classes, in our consciences, the demands of God in our lives, but somehow, we do not allow our lives to be guided by it. We should internalize the Scripture, allowing it to guide our thoughts and actions, and be able to navigate life’s challenges with wisdom and grace.

The Book of Colossians was penned by the Apostle Paul to address false teachings and to affirm the supremacy of Christ. The passage of today, often referred to as the “Christ Hymn,” emphasizes the preeminence and sufficiency of Christ in all things. First, Paul sees Christ as the exact representation of God, who made the invisible visible to humanity. In other words, he affirms the divinity of Christ as God made man. Secondly, Paul calls Christ, the first born of all creation, in order to emphasise Christ’s eternal generation from the Father, the Word from the Father, the Mind of the Father.

Thirdly, Paul recognises Christ as the Creator of all things that exist; through whom, in whom and for whom all things were made. Fourthly, Paul recognises that since all that exist come into existence in Him, for Him and through Him, He is before all of them and the fulcrum or the turning point for all existence, the Glue that holds them all together.

Finally, just as He is the First and the Source of all existence, so also He is the only one that reconciled creation to its original form after the sin of Adam had destroyed it, by the power of His precious Blood shed on the cross, thereby making peace between God and Man. Hence, we can imagine that our lives, our job, family, everything we care about are all held together by one unshakable force. That Force is Christ, the ultimate cornerstone. Let us let Him be at the centre of our day-to-day choices, and let us allow His greatness to shape our lives and actions.

In the Gospel, a Jewish scholar of the law, asked Jesus two important questions, bordering on salvation: what one must do in order to inherit eternal life, and who is our neighbor? Jesus threw back the first question to him, but went to tell a story in order to answer the second question.

In his first question, the lawyer recognises eternal life as a gift, an inheritance, given to those who impress God by their lives on earth. Quoting Deuteronomy 6:4, he recounts that the condition for life is love of God with our whole being, with our hearts, souls, mind and strength, and the love of neighbour as ourselves. We must love to have life, because Life itself is God, who is Love and we cannot be reunited with Him if we are devoid of love.

First, we love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and our whole being came from Him and is dependent on Him. Next, we must love our neighbor as ourselves. So who is our neighbor? With the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus gives the answer: It is anyone who is in need regardless of ethnicity, nationality or religion.

In this story, “the wise and the intelligent,” the priest and the Levite, looked the other way when they met the wounded man on the road, either because they wanted to observe ritual purity, thinking the man was dead, or they were tired from their work in the temple. But they failed the test.

A Samaritan, who was not a Jew, and hated by Jews was the one who came to help the wounded man. He did not ask who the man was, Jew or non-Jew, white or black, tribe or religion, but saw the man was in need. He did not ask the man whether he deserved help or not, nor did the man himself ask for help before he reacted, he only found out he had the means to help. He was filled with compassion for him. He suffered with the man, felt his pains as his. He does not even mind whether the victim will repay him or not. This is love in action.

It is easy to define and explain what love is but to put it into practice is the harder part. Many times the people we expect to be our example of Christian living, like the cases of the priest and levite, are the ones who fail to live up to our expectation. On the other hand, the people we least expect or even look down as worst sinners, are the ones who truly live the gospel message of love. The good Samaritan shows us what authentic Christianity means.

He first poured oil and wine on the wounds to preserve them from decay, and went even further and took the man to a clinic and promised to pay extra costs on return. This is true love; doing for others what we would love to be done to ourselves; transferring the love of self to other people around us. This is true love, agape love. The type of love Jesus lived by taking our sins on Himself, our wounds, and binding them through His Sacred Wounds on the cross of Calvary.

Prayer
May the Lord grant us the grace to be ever attentive to God’s law.

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