Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C 10th July 2022
Lectionary Readings: Deuteronomy. 30 v9-14; Psalm 25 v1-10; Colossians v1-14; Luke 10 v25-37
Obey the Lord’s commands!
In the gospel reading today, Luke tells us of an encounter between an ‘expert in the Law of Moses’ and Jesus. The ‘expert’ asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. “Teacher” he asked, “What must I do to have eternal life?” (Luke 10 v25).
I assume the question was asked in order to see if Jesus was teaching ‘orthodox’ Jewish theology and/or something different from the traditional understanding of how scripture should be applied to daily life. ‘Eternal life’ was viewed then as a reward for righteous living, rather than something we can enter into here and now as a result of God’s kindness to us.
Jesus turned the tables on the expert by asking him, “What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them? The man replied, “The Scriptures say ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind.’ They also say, ‘Love your neighbours as much as you love yourself.’” Jesus said, “You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life.” (Luke 10 v26-28)
In the book of Deuteronomy, a section of ‘The Law of Moses’, the writer declares, “You know the Lord’s commands by heart. All you have to do is obey!” (Deuteronomy. 30 v14b).
King David, asked for some help in following the right path in life, he writes, “I offer you my heart, Lord God, and I trust you, Show me your paths and teach me to follow; guide me by your truth and instruct me.” (Psalm 25 v1,4).
I think Jesus was challenging the thinking of the ‘Expert in the Law of Moses’ in the telling of the tale of ‘The Good Samaritan’. Jesus expanded his understanding of who our ‘neighbour’ is and challenged him to think about the barriers created by the ‘Institution’ of the Temple. For example, the fear of being considered ‘unclean’ as a result of getting an injured person’s blood on his hands.
I also think Jesus is encouraging this obviously well educated man, to think in the same vein as King David, about what extra help, beyond the Law of Moses, might be needed by ordinary people in their desire to live a life pleasing to God.
In New Testament times, followers of ‘The Way’ (of Jesus), acknowledged that the Holy Spirit was needed to help people live a life that honours God. The writer of the letter to the Colossians, says, “We always pray that God will show you everything he wants you to do and that you may have all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives. Then you will live a life that honours the Lord, and you will always please him by doing good deeds. You will come to know God even better. His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything and you will be truly happy.” (Colossians 1 v9b-11).
In his gospel, John quotes Jesus as saying, “If you love me, you will do as I command. Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you”.
(John 14 v15,16).
Simple and straight forward it seems; if we want to live a life that is true to the teachings of Jesus, then we must follow the Kingdom building guidelines and values set out in scripture and show God’s love for our world/his creation, ourselves and other people. But we know we cannot do so in our own strength. God’s gift of his Spirit is key to success in this endeavour.
Bible quotations are taken from the Contemporary English Version.