It's All In The Instructions

I brought home the thing and opened the box. It looked easy enough and I started putting the thing together. Well, part one went into part two but the hole for part three didn't quite line up but I inserted it anyway.  Part four almost lined up correctly and using the wrench provided by the manufacturer I tighten the nuts and turned my new table over and it was very, very lopsided.  I took the thing apart and looked in the box and pulled out this printed sheet. It appears that I had part one upside down as to how it was supposed to fit in part two.  I took the thing apart and this time I followed the instructions and my new table looked just like the sample did in the store. Reading and following all of the instructions made all of the difference. 

In the first reading at mass this Sunday, God reminds us in Deut 30 10-14 that the instructions are there, he put them there, we do not have to look for them, He has written them for us in our hearts.  In the Gospel today we heard the story of the Good Samaritan.  The story was a shocker in the time of Jesus. Samaritans were looked down upon, they were looked on as pagans by the faithful Jews of the time.  The road that lead to Jericho was avoided for a couple of reasons. First, it went through Samaria.  Second. it was well known that it was infested with robbers. A Jew would travel out of his way to avoid this road.  So it must have been an urgent mission that caused a priest and Levite to use that road. First of all the priest, why he could not stop. The man lying on the side of the road was bloody and if he touched him he would not be able to pray because he would be ritually unclean. The same was true for the Levite. Besides, what if the man was faking and either one of these two stopped to help, well maybe the man would jump up and rob them or hidden accomplices would jump out and beat the tar out of him and leave him for dead on the side of the road.  So for practical purposes alone, the priest and the Levite ignored the victim.  The Samaritan on the other hand was walking down that same road.  He stopped, he chose to extend mercy. He carried the victim to an inn and dressed his woulds and paid the innkeeper to watch over the man.  He also promised to pay whatever the innkeeper paid in excess of the two silver coins he left for the victims room and board. 

Jesus in this story makes sure to tell us while it is important to love God with your whole heart, soul, and being, you must also love your neighbor.  

On this Sunday where we are all still shaking our heads at the senseless violence that is plaguing our world, we have to ask ourselves are we taking care to be a caretaker of our neighbor?  Jesus is asking us to do so.  If we do, the violence will stop, I guarantee this to you.