15th Sunday in Ordinary Time July 13, 2013 The Good Neighbor By: Fr. Jerome U. Rosalinda The gospel is about the parable of the Good Samaritan. The parable, we should remember answers the question, “Who is my neighbor?” The context of the question is as important. The Lord said “You must love your neighbor as yourself”, the second greatest commandment and very much like the first commandment, which is to love God. The book of Leviticus (19:17-18) says, “Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself, I am the Lord.” To love one’s neighbor was a commandment any Israel should understand. This parable is unique in that we can find this only in the Gospel of Luke. It sits quite well with his theme of favoring the weak and the ostracized, those who at the time of Jesus were marginalized or hated. Samaritans were much hated, especially by the Jews, who listened to the story of Jesus. Samaritans were their. So the story was provocative for the Jews as it was something that insulted them. But the lesson was clear: even one’s enemies could be a person with a golden heart. (A side note: Jerusalem is more than 2000 feet above sea level. Jericho, on the one hand, is more than 800 feet below sea level. (While travelling down this road, there was a point where we were told the sea level was. It was not half of our trip going down.) It was not just distance, but also the sudden change of temperature. While Jerusalem may be a little comfortable, Jericho is a lot more humid and hot. Needless to say, not only did that road represent real danger, but also the sudden change from one that is safe to that which is less familiar.) In the parable, Jesus widened and deepened the concept of neighbor. Leviticus only referred to one’s neighbors as one’s fellow Jews. They had a narrow understanding of the concept. Jesus extended that to mean absolutely everyone (including one’s enemies). Unfortunately, it was neither the Jews, who understood it well, nor the temple priests and the Levite. It was the Samaritan who helped the man who was robbed, beaten and left to die on the road. The priest and the Levite failed to notice their neighbor, in fact avoided him, but the Samaritan did. It is interesting how we Filipinos translate the word “neighbor”. For us it means two things. First it means “kapitbahay”. The best neighbor is a Filipino because often food crosses over to the other side of the fence. I heard this saying about good neighbor, “Ang mabuting kapitbahay walang password ang wi-fi.” We usually are kind with our neighbors, aren’t we? A good neighbor shares his resources. Second, it also means “kapwa”. Neighbor is not just “kapitbahay” but also “ka-puwa”. I read long ago that the meaning of the word “kapuwa” means “the same as I am” or “katulad ko.” A wider understanding of “kapwa” means respecting absolutely everyone become they are like me, the same as I am. Yes, in many ways we are different. But in much more ways, we are actually just the same. What I think is beautiful about Filipinos is that we have a very good sense of “kapwa,” and we call it “pakikipagkapwa-tao”. It reveals our very keen idea of humanity the basis for respect and love. Yong makatao ay makakapwa-tao. Yong totoong tao ay tao din makitungo sa iba. The Samaritan was a person who knew “pakikipagkapwa-tao”. Do we really understand what (who) a neighbor is? It is not strange that God become like us (tao) and he dwells among us (nakipagkapwa-tao) so that he becomes the model, not only of deep love for God, but authentic love for neighbor. God was never an alien but a neighbor, who become like us in all things but sin (cf. Heb. 4:15). It is not strange too that this kind of parable is something that Jesus deeply believed in, even though the others found it shocking. He made us his neighbor; he made himself ours. He was in the real sense that Good Samaritan, that good neighbor. Fr. Jerome U. Rosalinda
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 04:18:49 +0000
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