LATEST HOMILY
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 12, 2025

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Focus: Accepting the hard truth of who is our neighbour and receiving neighbourly love from those we do not wish to receive it from. 

Function: Learn to be vulnerable in being a neighbour to someone you struggle with and also receiving that neighbourly love from them too. 

Everyone who reads this famous passage of Luke’s Gospel, Loves to associate themselves with the Good Samaritan. We experience a form of validation when we place ourselves, in the hoes of the guy bursting with charity. We feel really Christ-like when we give to our homeless brothers and sisters, on our streets begging for food or money. We well up inside when we aided in changing someone’s situation, for the better. In those moments we really feel that Christ is present within us. We should feel that Christ is present in us and He IS! But what pleases God even more are doing the extraordinary things, that make us uncomfortable. That makes us ask if what I’m doing is actually enough, in today’s first reading, Moses tells the Hebrew people in a nutshell: “Stop acting the fool and do what needs to be done!” The people of Israel know pretty well where God is and what is expected of them. But they tried to, as we say here, play crazy! But when the truth is right in front of our faces, we make excuses and say” “Oh I’m not there yet!” ,“I don’t know if I’m ready for that...” or we speak the relative language.  Well, that does not apply to me so I do not have to do it. Well.... no, it applies to you, me, and everyone and we all have to it. And what is that one truth that we all have to face one day?  We are not as Christ like as we think we are! We are not as holy as we think we are!  And many of us are going down the wrong road. We are fooling ourselves into thinking we are the, Good Samaritan all the time, when in reality the Levite character, turns on when we see someone or something we do not, want to touch with a ten-foot pole. And that is the hard yet saving truth of the Gospel, especially Luke. 

Luke’s Gospel is not a gospel that makes feel contentment and validation.  Luke’s Gospel is a prophetic one that tells we are not where we need to be. For example: When we reflect on the self-righteous pharisee and the sinning tax-collector, we think we are the sinning tax-collector when we know, our hearts reveal us to be more like the self-righteous pharisee. We all want to be the prodigal son when we know good and well, most days what comes out of mouths are words of the envious brother. How long have I been this Church doing X, Y and Z, and these Johnny-come-lately’s are talking about how they are, supporting the parish! These people they aren’t any good! Sounds familiar? We all want to be the good Samaritan, until that desire is put to the test. And all of a sudden, we have to go, Because we have more important things to take care of than this! 

Pride Vs. Humility & Rejection Vs. Vulnerability

Do not cancel out the good things we have done for others. And surely do not think that the Lord is not please with us.  Especially if we are trying our best to be a follower of Christ. But here’s the catch we often miss! Jesus wants more! He always wants more until we are spent of our former ways. And made a new like Him! Jesus’ words are a two-edge sword that cuts right to the heart, but relieves us of the lying pains we harbor within. The only way to really be Christ like, to really have heart patterned after His, is to be humble and that humility requires vulnerability.  It’s easy to good for people we like or do not know. But what about being humble, open and vulnerable to the people we can’t stand to look at. What about being kind and helping people who do not think much of us or care for us. When we find ourself taking deep breaths, counting to 10 and praying to God give us the right, words to speak to Somone nicely despite the fact that we want to, Cuss them out and royally, then you can say Jesus I’m trying to be a good Samaritan. Being a Good Samaritan is not always doing charity for the neighbour that is homeless or hungry or on drugs.  Yes, those persons will always need Good Samaritans. But the Good Samaritan needs to bind up the wounds of their spouse they have not spoken to in weeks. The Good Samaritan is the one who needs to have a, heart to heart conversation with their cantankerous siblings. The Good Samaritan is the one who says I’m sorry for, what happened between us even when it’s not the, apologizers fault. Being a Good Samaritan means dying to self so others may live. Even when the one’s you are dying for are the one’s killing you! Wild, right?! But that’s the hard truth.  That is Jesus’ truth and He follows it better than anyone else. So, we come to final question! What do we do? We become vulnerable.  We admit that we are weak. We say out loud to Jesus : Lord I can’t stand that guy over there!” I cannot deal with these heifers at work today! Lord this woman is trying my patience! Lord, I want to break up this video game tonight if these, children don’t stop getting on my last nerve. Lord, I do not want to see these teachers in September much less that school! Lord, I struggle with lust and temptations and I do not know what to do! We call it out loud. That’s the first step. The second step is to surrender those wounds to the one Samaritan who heals all wounds. Let Him carry you on His mule and take you to His inn to heal you! And that Samaritan has just enough funds to take care of you. Because he does not pay with Denari but with His Blood.  And when you drink it to heal those wounds of weakness, it is now Christ who now lives in you and you no longer live for yourself.  And let Him guide you: your words, your actions and reactions! Say Jesus enter within me speak through me and restore to me what was robbed from me by the evil one. So just as you are a Good Samaritan to me, let me be a Good Samaritan to my neighbour, especially the one’s I do not relish!  Before we desire to take on the character of the Good Samaritan, we have to see ourselves as the wounded one on the road side, allow Jesus to take us up and tend to our wounds.  Finally, we will understand the gift of relinquishing pride and leaning on the virtue of humility. And then we can go out and do likewise for both our friends and enemies who are our neighbours in need! 

Amen!