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Scripture Reflections for Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year C, Lectionary 105

THEMES: Abuse • Care • Commandment • Compassion • Concern • Creation • Divine • Division • Environment • Eternal Life • Fear • Healing • Heaven • Help • Justice • Love • Mercy • Moral • Music • Neighbor • Presence • Relationship • Salvation • Samaritan • Search • Sight • Sin • Solidarity •

Deuteronomy 30:10-14

“The voice of God is in us. What is it? It's the voice of conscience. It's the keen awareness of the moral law. It's the voice of someone who's commanding us, urging us to be good”

Bishop Robert Barron. "Hearing the Voice of God." Word on Fire. July 14, 2019

Psalm 19:8-11 or Psalm 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36-37

Colossians 1:15-20

“the same thing's true about Christ. In his humanity he's an icon of the invisible God, right? He makes visible the invisible reality of God, he reveals him. But it also means he's human.” -Brant Pitre

Luke 10:25-37

“Is neighbor a noun or a verb? Is it someone that you live near or someone who draws near to you in a time of need? Is neighbor something you have or something you do?” -Ann M. Garrido

“what kind of neighbor am I? How can I reach out to the other with compassion unscathed irrespective of my own status and the status of the other?” -Julie George, SSpS

“The final command of Jesus in today's Gospel would certainly have been difficult for the expert in the Law. The command is just as challenging for us today. 'Go and do the same yourself.' The next step is up to us.” -Fr. Geoffrey Plant

“it's critical to remember that the interpretation of the Torah, of the Law, scriptures, was hotly debated by scholars in the 1st century as today” -Brant Pitre

“What people really desire is our time...Taking time to be with someone, prioritizing a simple act of communion to sit with someone and listen, to talk and laugh, to be together in a moment of care and concern, is perhaps the greatest mercy we can show to our neighbor.”

Christine Bodewes. "Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time." Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. July 14, 2019

“Merciful love is a powerful force that acts to relieve the misfortunes of others, to dispel the things that compromise their welfare, and to bring about their full flourishing as human beings”

Fr. Martin Ganeri. "Merciful Love." Torch. July 10, 2019

“the teaching of Jesus is that there is no loving God independently of showing mercy to the victims left abandoned by the side of the road”

Fr. Fergus Kerr. "The Grammar of Mercy." Torch. July 6, 2016

“The human race has been wounded by sin, and though the Jewish Law, represented by the priest and the levite, could advise people to avoid sin, it could do nothing to heal the damage human sinfulness had inflicted on the world, or on individual human beings”

Fr. Gregory Pearson. "Image of the Unseen God." Torch. July 14, 2013

“In the act of loving our neighbour, we display the same love which God showed when in the person of Christ he came to the aid of a wounded and broken humanity”

Fr. Thomas Skeats. "The Fullness of the Law." Torch. July 11, 2010

“Unanimously, all interpreters see the inn as the Church: not to be judged on its exterior state, but on the devotion in the heart of its ministers”

Fr. Edward Booth. "Inheriting eternal life." Torch. July 11, 2004

“The Samaritan...was able to follow his heart and let simple human compassion move him...There was enough light for him to see that the face of the man lying in the ditch was the face of a brother, despite all that race, creed, and circumstance had placed between them.”

Ron Rolheiser, OMI. "What Is Religion All About?." ronrolheiser.com. November 1, 1998

“those who did not stop to help him, the priest and the scribe, did so for reasons that go far beyond the question of their individual selfishness and selflessness. They did so for certain ideological, religious reasons...The Samaritan, who had the least to lose religiously, was able to be moved by simple human compassion.”

Ron Rolheiser, OMI. "The Good Samaritan." ronrolheiser.com. August 21, 1997

“once we understand this is about how Jesus heals a fallen humanity, that's now our job, we got our marching orders. Our job is to look around to see who are those who are lying helpless and wounded by the side of the road. And are we instruments of grace...?”

Bishop Robert Barron. "Christ Can Heal Us." Word on Fire. July 10, 2022

“How have I moved outside my comfort zone and paid attention to the need around me? And what did I do to stay there?”

Lisa Bright. "The Good Samaritan: Looking with fresh eyes." Australian Women Preach. July 10, 2022

Richard Rohr. "Border Crossing Story." Center for Action and Contemplation. July 10, 2016

“Christians, reread this story sometime today, identify yourself with the man wounded half-dead by the side of the road and then rejoice in the Christ who has come to save you, has come to redeem you”

Bishop Robert Barron. "The Good Samaritan." Word on Fire. July 11, 2004

Overall Readings

“belief in God and the worship of God are not enough to ensure that we are actually living in a manner pleasing to God” -Meghan Clark

“who is the Samaritan in our own context today? The Samaritan is the foreigner, those we dislike because they don't talk like us and they don't look like us” -Fr. Emmanuel Ochigbo

“If we spend too much time trying to determine 'who is my neighbor?' rather than spending our time helping our neighbors we will find ourselves no better off than the Israelites wandering through the desert...we can find the promised land in the hearts of those who we help and ultimately in the heart of God” -Fr. Tony Ricard

“I took away the Lay Missioners’ and Maryknoll approach of being present to the communities they were joining and offering their gifts to the people, as the Samaritan’s bandaging, transporting and housing of the robber’s victim was given.”

Hugh Menton. "Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time." Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. July 10, 2022

“every person, too, whether just or unjust, saint or sinner has been imprinted with the image of God, marked out by his nature as belonging to God, and so endowed with an innate sacred dignity. Hence, we are called to show reverence to one another”

Fr. Lawrence Lew. "Who Are Our Icons?." Torch. July 6, 2022

“Jesus is ‘the new Law’ of God made flesh and dwelling in our heart...and should no longer be sought at distances (message of Moses to the Israelites). And by his redemptive death, he has reconciled all things with God...we are now one common family who are no more separated by legalism (image of the priest and the Levite), but who are united by love (image of the Good Samaritan)”

Fr. Lawrence Obilor. "Take care of him." A Catholic Moment. July 14, 2019

“due to our inclination to sin, we tend not to think rationally, but instead to rationalize. We can’t think clearly, because we are not seeking truth, we are seeking our own pleasure.”

John Bergsma. "Won't You Be My Neighbor?." The Sacred Page. July 8, 2019

“With a keen sense of our co-dependence with all of creation we can hear the message of Jesus in today’s gospel with fresh ears so that our mission of healing our neighbor extends as well to the care of God’s creation”

Father Eugene Toland, MM. "15th Sunday in Ordinary Time." Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns. July 10, 2016

“The more one builds their faith, the more time one spends communicating with Christ, the more we will be able to show compassion in these times where we encounter those bloodied, beaten people in our lives”

Joseph LaCombe. "Do the Right Thing, Because it’s the Right Thing to Do." A Catholic Moment. July 9, 2016

“It wasn’t a person’s position in life that made them a good person in the Lord’s eyes. Thinking of one’s self did not make a person holy. Caring about other people and being of service to them in their time of need, is what makes a person holy.”

Laura Kazlas. "The Good Samaritan." A Catholic Moment. July 14, 2013

“The love of Jesus Christ carries us beyond the requirements of justice, bringing peace and healing where hope has been lost, and lifting us to the immeasurable joys of heaven”

Fr. David Goodill. "Just Love." Torch. July 15, 2007

“we will need to begin to acknowledge the prejudices which inhibit us and the fears which paralyse us. And then we will have to begin to ‘die’ a little, so that we may ‘see’ Jesus and allow him to move us to action”

Fr. Louis Fergus. "Go and do the same yourself...." Torch. July 15, 2001

Richard Rohr. "The Good Samaritan." Center for Action and Contemplation. July 14, 2013

“The Ten Commandments have two tables, the first of which commands the love of God, the second of which commands the works of justice and compassion”

Bishop Robert Barron. "The Natural Law." Word on Fire. July 15, 2007

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