Sunday 13 July 2025 - Who is my neighbour?

Sunday 13 July 2025

Today is Sunday the 13th of July, beginning the 15th week of Ordinary Time. Jon Guerra sings, ‘Love Your Enemies’. Give to everyone who asks of you Be good to everybody, no matter who Do to them as you would have them do to you Love your enemies No greater love is there than this I laid down My life, and I would do it again I gave it to you, so give it to them Love your enemies Love, love Love your enemies And be children of your Father in Heaven Children of your Father in Heavеn Turn the other cheek, put down your fists Give up your coat if somеone asks for it What have you got that you were not given? Give everything And when the sun sets on your labor Turning the tides, but not in your favor Love is a rescue and it'll save you For love, love Love your enemies And be children of your Father in Heaven Children of your Father in Heaven If you love those who love you, what good is it? What good is it? What good is it? If you hate those who hate you, what good is it? Well, it's no good, no good at all If you love those who love you, what good is it? What good is it? What good is it? If you gain the whole world, but lose your soul Well, it's no good, no good at all It's no good, no good at all Oh, love, love Love your enemies And be children of your Father in Heaven Today’s reading is from the Gospel of Luke. Luke 10:25-37 Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’ But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’ This lawyer asks a question that, as Jesus shows, he really already knows the answer to. Perhaps you know an answer to it as well. What, do you think, must you do to inherit eternal life? The question, though, prompts one of Jesus’s best-known stories, the Good Samaritan. Although you’ve no doubt heard it many times before, what caught your attention as you heard it today? If you ask Jesus here and now the key question here, “Who is my neighbour?”, what response does he give you? As the passage is read again, simply notice how the different characters in the story react to the situation that they find themselves in. But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ Jesus replied, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while travelling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?’ He said, ‘The one who showed him mercy.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’ Jesus ends by saying “Go and do likewise”. At the end of this time of prayer, how do you want to respond to him? Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be World without end Amen