Homily for ​​Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C

The readings for Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C may be found at:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071325.cfm

This week, the evangelist, St. Luke tells us of

a scholar of the Law

approaching Jesus to ask

“What must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus responds 

by asking what is written in the law.

To which the scholar responds,

"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 assures him 

that if he does these things 

he will gain eternal life.

But the scholar,

senses something troubling in Jesus’ reply

and presses Him to define,

“Who is my neighbor?”

What the scholar wanted was specifics - 

who should qualify to deserve our help.

And if that is what he wanted, 

He asked Jesus the wrong question.

When asked “Who is my neighbor”, 

Jesus responds with a parable.

He tells the story of a Jewish man, 

stripped, beaten and left half-dead 

on a remote desert road.

This remote road was long, mountainous,

Dangerous, indirect 

and difficult to travel,

but favored by Jews because it avoided Samaria.

You see, 

Samaritans and Jews were mortal enemies.

Jesus tells us 

that the first person to come upon this half-dead man 

was a Jewish priest.

And rather than help, 

he deliberately moved to the other side of the road 

to avoid the injured man.

You would think, 

with his knowledge of God

that he would stop to help.

But he doesn’t.

Next, 

a Levite came upon the man, 

and like the priest before him, he too, 

moved to the opposite side of the road as he passed.

Showing a complete lack of compassion and kindness.

Both failing to love their neighbor.

You can imagine what they were thinking.

I don’t want to get involved.

I don’t know this person or worse,

what the people who put him here 

might do to me.

So, Jesus brings on the Samaritan.

Today, 

the term Samaritan refers to 

a charitable person who helps those in distress.

But in the time of Jesus, 

a Samaritan would be the least likely source of help 

for a Jew.

Yet, what does this Samaritan do 

when faced with this injured traveler?

Move to the opposite side of the road?

Pretend not to see him?

No.

Instead,

he was moved by compassion.

He acted.

He saw 

and embraced 

the urgent need to rescue 

and recover this man.

He showed love.

He bore the man’s burdens 

as though they were his own.

Jesus tells us 

that this man didn’t just give a little care, 

the Samaritan made extraordinary sacrifices 

for someone he didn’t even know.

His heart was so full of love 

that when someone came across his path 

with a desperate need he was able to meet, 

he did everything he could possibly do. 

Not a question,

Not a hesitation. 

In other words, 

the Samaritan 

never stopped to ask what the expert asked,

“And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus is describing a rare love that has no limits.

So, when Jesus tells us to 

“Go and do likewise” as He does today,

this impossibly high standard 

should move us 

not to question or to explain away or make excuses,

It should drive us to plead for grace and forgiveness.

The way that the good Samaritan cared for the traveler 

is the way God loves sinners.

Today’s gospel 

is a powerful reminder of how far away 

we are from where God is.

It should drive us, 

not only to think of everyone as our neighbor,

But recognizing the near impossibility of that,

should call us to repentance.

To call us to go to confession,

To take advantage of the great sacrament our Lord made for us,

To confess our lack of compassion and sacrificial love

And to seek grace and mercy 

by turning with repentant faith 

to our Lord - 

The only One 

who truly and perfectly fulfills what the law demands of us.

Now, 

alot of people have very strong reactions to confession,

Most of us literally move to the opposite side of the road to 

avoid it.

If it has been a long time 

since you have been to confession,

be assured,

that God’s mercy 

is always greater 

than our shortcomings.

No matter how long it’s been,

He will not move to the opposite side of the road,

He will meet you in your need,

Bandage you up,

Carry you,

Care for you

And make you well again

in the sacrament.

And you might just find,

that in doing that,

in receiving the great graces 

that come in the sacrament of confession,

We are better able to 

“Go and do likewise”

to love our God, 

the way we were made to

and to better love our neighbor as ourselves.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

The readings for The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ - Year C may be found at:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/062225.cfm

Today, 

we celebrate the Solemnity of the 

Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, 

and we gather to celebrate 

the greatest gift that Christ 

has given to His Church,

Himself,

His very Body and Blood -

in the Eucharist. 

The evangelist Saint Luke tells the familiar story 

of Jesus feeding the five thousand - 

and while 5,000 may sound like a lot, 

The gospel tells us

that only the men were counted.

Theologians estimate that, 

including women and children, 

the total number of people 

were likely 

12,000 to 20,000 or more. 

This estimate 

is based on the cultural context 

of the first century, 

where families 

often traveled together.

Incidentally, 

this coming Wednesday night 

in our Catholic Bible Study with the Chosen 

at 6:00pm in the Father Unsworth Center downstairs - 

sorry had to get a little plug in there - 

the first half of the episode 

is about the miracle that St. Luke tells us about today.

The scene opens

with a huge and hungry crowd 

in a deserted place. 

The disciples, 

practical and concerned, 

urge Jesus to send 

this massive group of people away 

to find food and shelter. 

We can almost feel their worry

in their words when they say - 

"Five loaves and two fish are all we have”

How often do we look at our lives, 

our families, our world, and see only 

what we don’t have? 

How often 

do we feel our resources - 

our time, our patience, our love

are not enough?

But Jesus 

responds to the disciples’ anxiety 

with a challenge - 

When they ask Him what to do,

Jesus says to

"Give them some food yourselves."

He asks the disciples, 

and He asks us, 

to bring what little we have, 

to trust, and to act in faith. 

The disciples -

then bring what little they have

and Jesus transforms them

into so much more. 

He blesses, breaks, and shares - 

and when He is through,

there is not only enough, 

there is an abundance - 

far more than enough. 

“They all ate and were satisfied.

and the leftover fragments

they filled twelve wicker baskets.”

But this miracle 

is not only about loaves and fish. 

It’s about the much deeper miracle  

and reality that we celebrate 

at every Holy Mass - 

the Eucharist. 

Jesus gives us Himself - 

His Body and Blood,

Soul and Divinity

as food for our journey. 

In the Eucharist, 

our deep, 

spiritual hunger -

everything we are -

and everything we lack

meets the superabundance 

of God’s grace. 

We come 

with our needs, our wounds, 

and our emptiness, 

and Christ 

fills us, 

heals us, 

and 

sends us out 

renewed.

As the great theologian

and Catholic saint,

St. Augustine once said, 

“Behold what you are. 

Become what you receive”. 

When we receive the Eucharist, 

we are not just 

fed as individuals - 

we are transformed 

into the Body of Christ, 

called 

to be His presence 

in the world. 

And the abundance we receive,

this miracle, 

is not meant just for us, 

but is meant to be shared. 

This miracle continues 

when we, in faith, 

offer our time,

or any small part of our lives - 

however broken or lacking - 

for the sake of others. 

The Eucharist is the place 

where all are welcome, 

where our needs are met, 

and where we 

are empowered 

to meet the needs of others. 

In the face of hunger - 

whether it be physical, 

spiritual 

or emotional - 

Christ’s answer 

is always 

to give us far more 

than we could ever 

do ourselves,

if only we trust 

and bring Him what we have.

As we celebrate this Solemnity,

let us ask 

for the grace 

to see with the eyes of faith - 

Let us bring our needs 

and our gifts to Jesus, 

trusting 

that He will bless, 

break, 

and multiply them 

for the good of all. 

And may we become 

what we receive - 

the living Body of Christ - 

real, 

living and 

visible

signs of God’s abundance 

in a world that

desperately needs it.