Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Gospel Summary
Jesus was tested by a lawyer who wanted to prove that he was a good person. Assuming that he knew the answer, he asked Jesus what one must do to have eternal life. Jesus coaxed from the man what was the greatest commandment: To love our neighbor as we love ourselves. But the man asked Jesus to define neighbor. Jesus explained who our neighbors are by telling the story we know as the ÒGood Samaritan.Ó In a land where Samaritans were despised, a man traveling on a road fell into the hands of robbers who beat and robbed him. Two people who would have been expected to stop, a Levite and a priest, actually passed the man by leaving him for dead. A Samaritan, however, stopped and tended to him, took him to a safe place and paid for his care. The point of Jesus' story was not so much who the neighbor was but how the lawyer should have responded as a neighbor.

Reflection for Families
Most parents will see at least one occasion in their child's life where the child is rejected in some way. Like the Samaritan who faced much rejection from his Jewish neighbors, we can still teach our children to act compassionately even if this was not their own experience. Often the primary way we teach our children is by our own example. What do we do when someone offends us? How do our children see us react? Sometimes all we have to do is think about the last time our children rode in the car with us to be just a little embarrassed by how we react to another person's mistakes.

Bringing the Gospel Into Your Family
Read through your local newspaper or a news magazine to see if you can identify Good Samaritans in your community or in our country. Is there something they are doing that your family might be a part of? Either by reading something in the news or finding an opportunity in your parish bulletin, see if you can put this Gospel to work in your family this week.