In the Gospel reading today, Jesus is asked, “Who is my neighbor?”. In response, he tells the story of Good Samaritan. Like other parables, this story shocks and surprises its listeners, up-ends their expectations, and opens their minds. In the story, the familiar persons (the priest and Levite) suddenly are turned into aliens, and the Samaritan, who was considered “the other,” becomes the true neighbor. The true neighbor is the one who can see beyond the superficial differences and recognize the underlying humanity of the other person.
I remember the saying, “Nothing that is human is alien to me” (by Terentius). All human beings are brothers and sisters and we are all neighbors to each other. We are more alike than we are different. The one who focuses on the differences, who dehumanizes others and acts inhumane toward others, then, sees others as aliens and is himself alienated from others.
I remember the saying, “Nothing that is human is alien to me” (by Terentius). All human beings are brothers and sisters and we are all neighbors to each other. We are more alike than we are different. The one who focuses on the differences, who dehumanizes others and acts inhumane toward others, then, sees others as aliens and is himself alienated from others.
How do I live out this gospel message in my own life? Do I erect barriers in my mind between myself and others? Whom do I exclude as being “other” than myself? Do I have an intimate, close relationship with others? Or do I live alone in my head and see others as a means to an end? Do I have a “utilitarian” attitude toward others or a loving attitude toward others?
Can I stretch and open my heart so that I love even the one who treats me as an alien? How do I approach the one in need who sees me as an alien?
If I turn someone into an alien, it must be because there is an aspect of myself of which I am unconscious or unaware. I am in denial or hiding from this shadow side of myself.
Father Bill said that, at the second Pentecost, all eyes will be opened and we will all see that we are brothers and sisters, and there will be an end to religious wars and other violence in the world. It seems that this “second Pentecost” is already occurring, as a gradual dawning of the light, in some individuals who are awakening, while others remain in darkness. Can I be like a star in the dark night sky, a beacon who leads others to the light?
