Daily Reading
First Reading
Jonah 1:1–2:2, 11
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying, “Go at once to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it, for their wickedness has come up before me.”
But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. …
Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, saying,
“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice.”
…
Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea was growing more and more tempestuous.
Psalm
Jonah 2:3, 4, 5, 8
For you cast me into the deep, into the heart of the seas, and the flood surrounded me; all your waves and your billows passed over me.
Then I said, “I am driven away from your sight; how shall I look again upon your holy temple?”
The waters closed in over me; the deep was round about me; weeds were wrapped about my head.
Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their loyalty.
Gospel Reading
Luke 10:25-37
An expert in the law 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 neighbor 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 neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said, “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 traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion.
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 neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
He said, “The one who showed him mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Reflection
Friends, our Gospel today is one of the best known of Jesus’s parables, the story of the Good Samaritan. Every story, parable, illustration, and exhortation is, at the end of the day, a picture of the Lord.
In one of the great windows of Chartres Cathedral, there is an intertwining of two stories: the account of the fall of mankind and the parable of the Good Samaritan. This reflects a connection that was made by the Church Fathers. The Good Samaritan is a symbol of Jesus himself, in his role as Savior of the world.
Now our task is to be other Christs. “Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus says to him, “Go and do likewise.”
We spend our lives now looking for those people stranded by the road, victimized by sin. We don’t walk by, indifferent to them, but rather we do what Jesus did—even for those who are our natural enemies, even for those who frighten us. And we bring the Church’s power to bear, pouring in the oil and wine of compassion, communicating the power of Christ’s cross.