This week we hear one of the most powerful and practical teachings in the Gospels: the parable of the Good Samaritan. But before Jesus gives us that parable, we hear two equally important messages from Deuteronomy and from St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians — both anchoring us in the reality that God’s Word is not far away. It’s close. It’s within us. The only question is: Will we live it?
In our first reading, Moses speaks to a people on the brink of entering the Promised Land. He says,
“This command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you… It is something very near to you, in your mouth and in your heart.”
God is not playing hide and seek with His will. He’s not testing us by asking for impossible things. The commandments are not beyond our reach — they’re inscribed in our conscience, they’re whispered by grace, and they are fulfilled in love.
It’s as if Moses is saying: You already know what you must do. Now do it.
St. Paul then points our eyes to Christ:
“He is the image of the invisible God… in Him all things hold together.”
This majestic hymn in Colossians reminds us that Jesus is more than a wise teacher — He is the center of the universe, the One through whom and for whom everything was made.
But look again: This cosmic Christ is also the crucified Christ, reconciling all things by the blood of His cross. His greatness isn’t in towering power — it’s in self-giving love. And this is the very love we are called to imitate.
Finally, we arrive at Jesus’ interaction with the scholar of the law. The man wants to test Jesus, and eventually asks:
“And who is my neighbor?”
That question is still with us today. Who deserves our care? Who counts as “my people”? Who can I ignore?
Jesus answers not with a definition but with a story:
A man is left beaten and half-dead. Two religious figures pass by. They know the Law. They’re respected. But their hearts are not moved to mercy.
Then, along comes a Samaritan — a foreigner, an outsider, one considered unclean — and he is the one who stops. He is the one who pours wine and oil on the wounds. He carries the man to safety, pays for his care, and promises to return.
And Jesus ends with this:
“Go and do likewise.”
Here’s the connection:
• Moses tells us that God’s law is written on our hearts.
• Paul reminds us that Christ is reconciling all things in love.
• Jesus shows us what that love looks like in real life.
It looks like a person who stops.
Who sees.
Who sacrifices.
Who crosses boundaries for the sake of compassion.
And that’s where this hits home for us.
Being Catholic, being Christian, is not just about what we believe, but how we love.
Not how often we attend Mass, but how we carry Christ’s mercy outside the doors.
There are people in our world who are lying in the ditches of life:
• A neighbor recovering from addiction.
• A teen struggling with depression.
• A refugee family trying to find shelter.
• A coworker overwhelmed by grief.
• Someone on the margins that we may be tempted to cross the street to avoid.
Jesus is asking us: Will you stop? Will you care?
Brothers and sisters, the Word of God is not far from us. It’s not locked in a church or buried in a theology book. It’s in our hearts. It’s in our hands. It’s waiting to be lived.
Let’s not be the ones who just “know” the commandment. Let’s be the ones who do it.
Let’s be the ones who see Christ in the wounded, the outcast, the one who seems least like us.
Let’s hear those words of Jesus not as a suggestion but as a mission:
“Go and do likewise.”
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