St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) said, “If we have no peace, we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” When we welcome others in Christ’s name, even and especially people who are different from us, we’re fulfilling God’s greatest commandment to love God and love others (Lk 10: 27). When we love others, we are actually treating them as if they were Christ Himself.
Photo by Barbara Morrison
In the parable of the sheep and the goats (Mat 25: 31-45), Christ tells us that if we are altruistic, including welcoming strangers, that we will be blessed and welcomed into heaven. If we do not, the consequences are dire: “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me’” (Mat 25: 41-45).
The Samaritan in today’s Gospel is an image of someone “not like us.” He was from a place where the Jews were forbidden to go. Samaritans were seen as heretics, outcasts, and despised. Yet the person who acted out of mercy to help the wounded man was this very stranger. Jesus tells this story to break down the preconceptions we have about who we should extend our mercy to and accept as our neighbor. This is an example of Jesus establishing unity among all people through His Gospel.
Our world is filled with people who are “different.” People of different races and religions, people from different countries and cultures, people of different classes and socioeconomic statuses. Guess what? We are all “different” from each other! But as St. Teresa said, “we belong to each other.” The result of not seeing these “other people” as our neighbors is the unfortunate root of so much unrest, strife, and lack of peace. Bigotry, racism, classism, and hatred of others all stem from the lack of awareness and belief that we have all been created in the image and likeness of God.
The good news is, we can play a part in overcoming this if we as individuals can learn to see people who are different than ourselves as truly our neighbors: people we respect; people who we show kindness toward; people we love as we love ourselves and our own families. A great place to start is to look for the ways that we are the same as other people. It is often true that we more alike than different from each other.
There’s a set of prayers called the Solemn Intercessions that we always pray at the Good Friday service where we ask for God’s blessing to cover His Church and all people. Among other people, we pray for all of the faithful, for the unity of all Christians, for the Jewish people, for those who do not believe in Christ, and for those to do not believe in God. This is our one human family, and by respecting the dignity of and caring for this family, we fulfill Jesus’ exhortation to “go and do likewise” (Lk 10: 37) as the Good Samaritan did.
Holy Spirit, Spirit of unity, bless us and bring us together in Your love. Help us see that we belong to each other. Help us to love our neighbors even more deeply, especially people who are different than ourselves.
Readings for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
DEUTERONOMY 30: 10-14
PSALM 69: 14-37
COLOSSIANS 1: 15-20
LUKE 10: 25-37