Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

July 14, 2013

Deuteronomy 30:10-14; Psalm 19; Colossians 1:15-20; Luke 10:25-37

The Parable of the Good Samaritan challenges us to name our neighbors. It becomes a problem for us because once we identify them as neighbors, we can no longer ignore them. Remaining anonymous makes it easy for us to pass by people and not give them much of a thought throughout the day, but our faith asks us to do more. ‘The one who does mercy’ is the one who acts as a neighbor. This is the type of neighbor we want, and it asks us, “What type of neighbor am I?”

I have a friend in Amman who always responds with mercy to those in need. She is always there to help a friend who has been mugged, beaten, or robbed. It is quite natural for her to just get up and go so she can attend to their needs. Some of the stories are dramatic, but life is often more interesting than the movies. The one constant though is that her goodness stands out and she reacts to the plight of the downtrodden with no questions asked. All she wants to know is if the person is safe and in good health. Perhaps some take advantage of her generosity. She knows they may, but she is ready to show them the face of God in times of trial. I admire her rapid, ready response to the call of the Gospel.

 Life has taught the far majority of us in other ways. We measure our responses with prudence and we decide ‘when’ and ‘where’ we will get involved. We assess the cost against the benefit and we check out the legal consequences. We have been burned in the past and we keep ourselves free from always bailing out those who constantly demand their rescue. We recognize unhealthy behavior and we try to model a better way of solving problems. We are not unwilling to help, but we are cautious about the ways we can appropriately intervene. We want to stay untangled from someone’s repetitive behavioral dysfunction while still remaining spontaneously generous. Our hearts and minds wrestle to make the best choice for all involved.

How do we “Go and Do Likewise,” that is, treat others with mercy in daily life?  Many of us are helpers and will instinctively reach out to someone who is in dire need and we cannot turn away from someone who is in real pain, but are we willing to give mini-mercies on a daily basis? Cultivating a habit of mercy will require that we always pause and consider what a person might be asking of someone. For instance, students who approach teachers after class might not truly be asking for a concrete explanation for a question, but might need someone in their day to simply acknowledge and accept them and give them an elusive smile. Receiving even a few seconds of quality time from a teacher, parent, or person in authority might give them needed encouragement from a person they respect and trust.  It might be all the person needs to choose to go forward in life and keep hope alive. Each of us needs someone who breathes courage into our world.

Our habits of mini-mercies might mean that we lift our eyes from the computer screen and turn toward the person interrupting us and look into her eyes. We might learn a lot about what someone else needs when we simply attend to her and acknowledge that another person stands before us for a good reason that hasn’t yet been fully revealed to us. Will we bother to even find out? What is communicated when we do not even acknowledge a person who seeks us out?

I am reminded by the story of the schoolgirl who rushes home from school to show her mother her project that has been graded with a gold star. She waves the paper in front of her mother and says, “Mom, guess what?” to which the Mom replies, “Yes, dear.” The persistent girls says again, “Mom guess what?” as she waves the paper again. The mother responds, “I’m listening, dear,” and the frustrated daughter yells, “Mom, you are not listening with your eyes.”

We want to be seen, acknowledged, heard, and known by those who are important to us. We extend mercy to others when we acknowledge them for ‘who they are’ and not for the questions they ask of us. Our actions tell them that they are our beloved neighbors and that we care enough about them to give them the most precious thing we have: time. It means looking at them, listening to them, reading their body language and facial expressions, and asking how they feel and think. We cannot give everyone the time and attention they desire and we do have to choose the amount of time we can spend, but we need to do quickly assess whether someone can benefit from our life-giving attention. We cannot assess that by ourselves. We do have to turn toward the other, draw forth and give voice to their unexpressed need, and treat them with abundant kindness and mercy. We might find that we are just like the Samaritan, but this time we may tend to wounds that we do not even know we are healing.

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: Another king rose to power in Egypt and he did not know Joseph or his reputation for being a fair governor. The king enslaved the Hebrews and set harsh taskmasters over them as they built major cities. In captivity, a Levite couple bore a male child and set him in the reeds to escape persecution. Pharaoh’s daughter rescued him and raised him as her own child, calling him Moses for he was drawn up out of the water. When Moses grew up, he struck and killed an Egyptian master who was cruelly beating two Hebrews. For his penance, he was sent into exile where he fled to Midian. While tending his flock of sheep, Moses was called by God to ascend the mountain in Sinai where he gazed upon the burning bush that was not consumed. God revealed that he is the God of the living and that he selected Moses to lead his oppressed people out of Egypt. The freed people will live in the land occupied by others in Palestine, but it will be a land flowing with milk and honey. When Moses petitioned the Egyptians to go to the desert for a three-day ritual, the Pharaoh declined, which bore the wrath of God who beset the land with terrible plagues. After the Egyptians were morally defeated, Pharaoh decided to let the Hebrews go. They prepared one last meal – a Passover meal – in which the Lord would pass over any house whose door was marked by the blood of a lamb thereby sparing the first-born sons. The children of Israel, about 600 thousand men, finally set out from Rameses to Succoth after spending 430 years in exile.  On the way they ate unleavened bread and they kept vigil the holy day of their deliverance.

Gospel: Jesus speaks of the consequences of discipleship. Everyone’s true compass is to face the Lord because commitment to him will mean that family members will be set against family members and peace will not remain in households that are not united in the faith. Jesus began to reproach the towns that failed to offer him hospitality. Their fate would become worse than what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus then thanks his Father for revealing to the simple ones who are pure in heart the great mysteries of the universe. He asks those who have labored hard to place their burdens upon his shoulders. When Jesus and his disciples are accosted for eating grain on a Sabbath in violation of Mosaic Law, he retorts that God does not want to impose undue burdens on the people. God desires and requires mercy, not sacrifice. The Pharisees set out to put Jesus to death. Without their knowing it, they were fulfilling the words spoken by Isaiah the prophet who said that ‘my anointed servant will suffer until he brings justice to victory and he will become the light and hope of the Gentiles.

Saints of the Week

July 14: Kateri Tekakwitha (1656-1680) was the daughter of a Christian Algonquin mother and a non-Christian Mohawk chief. As a child, she contracted smallpox and was blinded and severely disfigured by it. She was baptized on Easter Sunday 1767 by Jesuit missionaries and was named after Catherine of Siena. She kept a strong devotion to the Eucharist and cared for the sick. She is named "the Lily of the Mohawks."

July 15: Bonaventure, bishop and Doctor (1221-1273), was given his name by Francis of Assisi to mean "Good Fortune" after he was cured of serious childhood illnesses. He joined the Franciscans at age 20 and studied at the University of Paris. Aquinas became his good friend. Bonaventure was appointed minister general of the Franciscans and was made a cardinal. He participated in the ecumenical council at Lyons to reunite the Greek and Latin rites. Aquinas died on the way to the council.

July 16: Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the patronal feast of the Carmelites. The day commemorates the day Simon Stock was given a brown scapular by Mary in 1251. In the 12th century, Western hermits settled on Mount Carmel overlooking the plain of Galilee just as Elijah did. These hermits built a chapel to Mary in the 13th century and began a life of solitary prayer.

July 18: Camillus de Lellis (1550-1614), began his youthful life as a soldier where he squandered away his father's inheritance through gambling. He was cared for by Capuchins, but was unable to join them because of a leg ailment. He cared for the sick in hospitals that were deplorable. He founded an order that would care for the sick and dying and for soldiers injured in combat.

July 20: Apollinaris, bishop and martyr (1st century) was chosen directly by Peter to take care of souls in Ravenna. He lived through the two emperors whose administrations exiled and tortured him, though he was faithful to his evangelizing work to his death.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      Jul 14, 1523. Ignatius departs from Venice on his pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

·      Jul 15, 1570. At Avila, St Teresa had a vision of Blessed Ignatius de Azevedo and his companions ascending to heaven. This occurred at the very time of their martyrdom.

·      Jul 16, 1766. The death of Giusuppe Castiglione, painter and missionary to China. They paid him a tribute and gave him a state funeral in Peking (Beijing).

·      Jul 17, 1581. Edmund Campion was arrested in England.

·      Jul 18, 1973. The death of Fr. Eugene P Murphy. Under his direction the Sacred Heart Hour, which was introduced by Saint Louis University in 1939 on its radio station [WEW], became a nationwide favorite.

·      Jul 19, 1767. At Naples, Prime Minister Tannic, deprived the Jesuits of the spiritual care of the prisoners, a ministry that they had nobly discharged for 158 years.

·      Jul 20, 1944. An abortive plot against Adolf Hitler by Claus von Stauffenberg and his allies resulted in the arrest of Fr. Alfred Delp.