October 8, 2018

WHAT  TO  DO

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 27 Monday in Ordinary Time  is, “What To Do?”

I just had a homily at 10:30 of a young woman who died at the age of 27.

The title of my homily for that Mass was, “What to Say?”

I spoke about sometimes we don’t know what to say - especially when someone dies when they are quite young.

So I spoke about that. Sometimes showing up says a lot more than saying something.

After that Mass I sat here and asked myself, “What To Say” - coming out of today’s readings.

TODAY’S READINGS: WHAT TO PREACH

The first reading talks about preaching and following the gospel handed down to us.

Today’s gospel is from Luke.  It’s the story of the Good Samaritan.

One of the gifts of Luke is his ability to sum up the whole gospel in just one story - especially a parable.

Today it’s the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

So the first answer to the “What to do” question is what the scholar of the Law says to Jesus, “You shall love the Lord, your god, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus says, “Do this and you will live.”

Then Luke gives the  great message - of naming whom our neighbor is.

Jesus breaks all the boundaries that were part of Jewish village life as well as Israel’s life. It was limited to Jews.

Jess says that neighbors are not just our family and our tribe or class.

Neighbors are not just the person next door to us.

Our neighbor is any person on the planet who needs our help.

I don’t know about you, but I am moved every time I see on TV - people from all over the world - who show up in Haiti or Indonesia - when there is a hurricane or tsunami or earthquake. They are from Germany or Tokyo or Chicago or Maryland.

Or they collected $18 million Euros or Dollars for people needing help.

Who is my neighbor?

It’s the person who needs a dollar or a hamburger or a Hello or any form of Help.

It’s the person  hurting anywhere and everywhere  - in our family, in our groups, in our world.

The gospel message is: Help them. Be there for them.

CONCLUSION

The title  of my homily was: What To Do.

What to do: love, give, stop, be with, hug, hold, care, visit, share.

What would it be like to come up with a hat that says today’s gospel  in a short slogan? How about, “Help the hurting today.”  Or “Be the Good Samaritan.”