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At the End of Life
October 9, 2006

"Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me."

Monday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Father Barry O´Toole, LC

Luke 10:25-37
There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" He said in reply, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live." But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ´Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.´ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers´ victim?" He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy." Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Introductory Prayer: I thank you for granting me this private audience with you. I have come to praise and adore you. I know that you have longed for this moment because you have something you want to share with me. Speak Lord, for your servant listens.

Petition: Lord, grant me conversion of heart so that my life might be more pleasing to you.

1. A Sense of the Essential. Even though these scholars are asking a “trick question,” they have gone to the core of human life by asking about salvation. There is no doubt that this is a most important issue in life: What must I do to get to heaven? Jesus will state the matter in more definitive terms by declaring, “What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life” (Matthew 16:26)?

2. The Only Thing That Remains… A very rich man passed away and everyone was speculating how much money he had left to give to his son. Some were speculating about two hundred million; others said a-half-a-billion; still others imagined that he had possessed a couple of billions. Then a wise elder spoke up, “I know how much he left behind…. He left it all! He didn’t take a single penny with him.” Riches cannot buy us a ticket into heaven. At the end of our lives, the only thing that counts is the good we have done for God and for our fellowmen.

3. No Escape. Jesus leaves no room for doubts. When pressed for further explanations about the meaning of the term “neighbor,” he spells it all out in detail. We can try to justify ourselves like the priest of the parable. His knowledge of the Law reminded him that touching a dead man would make him “unclean” for seven days and unable to exercise his turn of duty in the Temple. In the end, ceremonies were more important for him than charity. Or we can try and justify ourselves like the Levite who might have suspected that the body was just the bandit’s decoy. One of their number would act the part of a wounded man; and when some unsuspecting traveler stopped to help, the others would rush upon and overpower him. His motto was “safety first.” Only the Samaritan who treated him with mercy was a true neighbor to the victim. There are no other valid excuses. “Go and do likewise,” Jesus tells us.

Dialogue with Christ: Lord Jesus, it is so easy to invent excuses and leave aside my commitment to true charity. I always find an escape. Then I hear your voice in my heart: “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me.” Help me to discover you in each person I meet this day and show you the mercy and kindness that you so deserve.

Resolution: Today I will treat others kindly, knowing that Jesus is in them.