Deut. 30:10-14; Col. 1:15-20; Lk. 10:25-37
'Go and Do Likewise.'
1. Christ commanded the teacher of the law to “Go and do likewise” in today’s Gospel reading. It means 'go and love, even your enemies, and be kind to those you meet on the road called life.' Christ used the ‘good Samaritan’, who was kind to someone he did not know, as an object of his parable. So, why did Christ call the man from Samaria ‘good’? What was the genesis of the abusive and malicious relationship that spark so much animosity between the Jews and the Samaritans? The Jews were very uncomfortable at the mention of the Samaritans and vice versa. Why?
2. A brief history will answer these questions. The Samaritans descended from the Israelites of the Northern tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. These were two of Jacob's twelve sons, named Israel by God. Jacob's children were: Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim, and Manasseh. The 12 of them made up the 12 tribes of Israel. According to Pablo T. Gadenz in his commentary on ‘The Gospel of Luke,’ “Jews regarded the Samaritans as having doubtful lineage on account of intermarriage with the Gentile peoples imported by the Assyrians after they conquered the northern kingdom in 721 B.C. and sent some Israelites into exiles (2 Kings 17:6-24; 2 Chron 30:6-11). Besides these ethnic tensions, there was an enduring religious rift associated with the Samaritan’s worship on Mount Gerizim rather than at the Jerusalem temple (Jn. 4:20). The Hasmonean Jewish ruler John Hyrcanus destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim around 111 B.C. Later, under the Roman prefect Coponius (A.D. 6-9), some Samaritans struck back by littering the Jerusalem temple with human bones at Passover, thus defiling it. Moreover, when Cumanus was the Roman procurator (A.D. 48-52), Samaritans from the border village of Ginae killed a group of Galileans passing through Samaria on the way to Jerusalem for a feast.” This then explains the animosity and hatred between the brothers of the same father in the same family as it were, to the point that they could not see past their tribal sentiments.
3. Jesus, on the hand, was not tired of forging a truce between the two factions. To answer the question, who is my neighbor? Jesus gave a parable of the good Samaritan who took care of a man who was beaten and left half-dead on a precarious, treacherous, and hazardous road. The priest and the Levites could not help the man for fear of defilement, but the Samaritan put his life in danger, went to the man, spent time and money, and put his donkey at the man’s service, lodged him in a hotel, and promised to stop by on his way back to make sure the man was doing well. The lawyer who identified the Samaritan (the one who showed mercy) as the man’s neighbor was told to ‘Go and do likewise.’
4. The first reading urges us to go and do likewise by paying heed to the voice of the Lord, keeping his commandments and statutes, as written in the book of the law. It reminds us that this commandment is written in our hearts. It is right in front of us. We need no teacher to teach us how to love, forgive, and be human. The second reading urges us to go and do likewise by seeing in Jesus Christ the image of the invisible God. If God is our father and Jesus Christ is our brother, we must treat everyone as brothers and sisters. Everyone is my neighbor, regardless of ethnic background, creed, color, or language. No one is a stranger to us on mother earth, for the blessings of God, are abundant for everyone if we only have love in our hearts for all. Yes, a neighbor is anyone who shows concern, mercy, and compassion to the needy, regardless of material, social, ethnic, or racial status. He is universal in his character and outlook. He may be uneducated or learned. Religious, agnostic, atheist, priest, or Levite, yet by his love for one and all, he demonstrates love for God and humanity. He is a model of authentic love and altruistic behavior.
5. The good Samaritan showed mercy by caring for the sick man. Catholic tradition has highlighted such corporal works of mercy, which also include feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, and visiting the imprisoned (cf. Isa 58:6-7; Matt. 25:31-46). Also emphasized are the spiritual works of mercy, which include instructing others in the faith, practicing fraternal correction, giving advice or consolation to those who need it, forgiving and bearing with those who wrong us, and praying for the living and the dead (Catechism 2447). What works of mercy can I carry out in order to love my neighbor?
6. There is a story by an unknown author about an old man who carried a little can of oil with him everywhere he went, and if he passed through a door that squeaked, he put a little oil on the hinges. If a gate was hard to open, he oiled the latch. So, he passed through life lubricating all the creaking places, making it easier for those who came after him. People called him eccentric, strange, cranky, odd, and even harsher names. But the old man went steadily on, refilling his can of oil when it became empty and oiling the squeaking or rusty hinge. He carried it with him at all times.
7. There are many lives that creak and squeak and grate harshly day by day. They need lubricating with the oil of kindness, gentleness, or thoughtfulness. That can of oil is one of the predominant characteristics of the Christian life. We are to carry such a can of oil with us at all times. So, pick up your can of oil and “Go and do likewise.”
Rev. Augustine Etemma Inwang, MSP
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