The parable of the good Samaritan

Is one we’re all very familiar with.

Our society is familiar with it too.

We even have a law named after the good Samaritan law.

I remember a scene earlier in my life

When I was studying, not just to be a priest,

I was actually a priest,

But I was getting my degree in canon law.

So I don’t know if you knew this about me.

I am a canon lawyer for the archdiocese.

I was studying in Rome.

In Rome, if you’ve ever been there,

There’s a lot of beggars on the street.

It’s sad.

Every day, I would walk to class and I pretty much

Would go down the same street and there was always

The same beggar on the same corner.

My last day of class, I was going to my defense,

My argumentation to get the degree.

So it was a big moment.

Whenever I would pass by this individual on the street,

They’d want to stop and talk

And it would be a couple minutes.

When I was preoccupied, I had to give my defense

In Italian and my life is riding on this thing.

If I don’t get this, I don’t get the degree

And the cardinal is going to kill me

And blah, blah, blah.

So I switched to the other side of the road

To bypass the beggar, to go to class.

Now I’m thinking to myself, oh my gosh,

When I’m reading this parable,

I’m like the priest or the Levite in that parable.

I go to the other side of the road,

I ignore the beggar.

I’m a terrible person.

What a horrible priest I am.

You probably are all losing your faith right now.

The thing is with the parable ‘the good Samaritan’

And just other issues

That we have in life,

It’s not always black and white.

So you might think, did I do the right thing?

Did I not do the right thing?

I’m still here today and I prayed for that individual.

I actually saw him on the way back,

But I had to make a decision

And I had to trust in God’s mercy for me

That he wasn’t going to punish me

For doing the wrong thing

Because I know we all have this question.

You know, when we face beggars on the street

All the time, you know,

Do you give them money or not and so forth?

We can’t all be like Father Scott,

Who every time he sees a beggar empties his wallet

And just gives hundreds of dollars

To every beggar on the street.

I’m kidding.

He doesn’t do that.

Tomorrow there’s going to be all these beggars

Lined up outside of Mercy Home for him.

But the point is to pray and discern the will of God

And then go easy on yourself.

So here’s one way you can actually interpret

Or apply the parable, the good Samaritan.

That you are both the Samaritan, the person who helps,

The victim, and you’re also the victim at the same time.

Okay, so you need to be, what, merciful to yourself.

Okay, merciful to yourself.

We’re all beaten up.

None of us are perfect.

We all have our flaws, our weaknesses,

Our sins, whatever you want to call it.

We’re lying on the side of the road.

Now, a lot of traditional morality or the guilt

That you always hear about around Catholicism

Was going to be like, you’re a pathetic person.

You should feel sad.

You should feel guilty and so forth.

That’s not being a good Samaritan to yourself.

You have to, in a way, kind of treat yourself

With love and compassion.

Pick yourself up and take yourself to the lord in prayer.

So when you do fall or you do make a mistake

Or you’re like me, you have to go

To the other side of the road

Because you got to do your doctoral defense or whatever.

Just be relaxed, be at peace.

Let the lord speak the truth to you

That you’re not a terrible person.

The more you can do this, the more you can be

A good Samaritan to yourself and be compassionate

And love yourself, be gentle with yourself,

The more then you’re going to be able to do that to others

Because the people that are harshest on others

And demanding and so forth

Are usually because they’re so harsh on themselves.

They don’t want to give themselves a break.

They’re not going to give others a break.

So that’s how easy it can be, right?

Be at peace.

Now this isn’t just a license to go do whatever you want

Because if you’re really a person of prayer,

God’s going to show you the way.

And you look at how easy it can be.

Like in Moses’ first reading, you know,

God is so close to you.

This is the book of Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy means the second law.

So moses had to give a second set of laws

Because the people disobeyed the first set of laws.

And there was like all these hundreds of laws

Getting down to every detail about what to do.

But moses says, “look at the end of the day,

Forget that stuff, love the lord with your heart.”

That’s how easy it can be.

And if we can do that as a people,

Then we’ll be merciful and loving to the people

Around us and God’s kingdom will spread.

So look to those beggars on the street, love them.

Look to the beggar yourself in your heart,

Love yourself and the love of neighbor

And God will flow from there.

Amen.