“Let Love for God and Love for Neighbor Be Our Two Eyes…”
Dearly beloved in Christ Jesus,
With joy, I share this reflection with you today based on the Word of God. The message of today’s readings invites us to reflect deeply in our hearts on two essential aspects of Christian life:
- Love for God, and
- Love for Neighbor.
In the first reading, we are reminded that God’s commandments are not merely meant to be written on scrolls or carried externally on the body — rather, they are to be engraved in our hearts.
When we carefully look at the commandments Jesus gives through His life, we realize that they are essentially commands of love:
- To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and
- To love your neighbor as yourself.
These two commandments are not new inventions of Jesus. In fact, when we search Scripture closely, we see these principles already emphasized in Deuteronomy 6:5, where we are asked to love God with our whole being, and in Leviticus 19:18, which speaks about loving our neighbor. Jesus calls us to live these out from the heart, as a true path of discipleship.
We are therefore called and committed to center our lives around these two pillars:
- Love for God, and
- Love for Neighbor.
However, as we see in today’s second reading, just as St. Paul wrote to the people of Colossae, we are reminded that God is above all and before all, and we who recognize this truth must embody His commandments in both word and deed.
It is in this context that Jesus offers the parable of the Good Samaritan to the man who comes to test Him with the question:
"Who is my neighbor?"
Though the parable is not a historical event, Jesus uses it to reflect the social reality of that time and to deliver a powerful lesson.
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho takes about three hours on foot and is rough, hilly, and dangerous. Robbers often ambushed travelers there. One such man is attacked, stripped, beaten, and left half-dead.
A priest comes along but, seeing the wounded man, walks on the other side. Jewish priests, according to Numbers 19, could not perform temple duties if they came into contact with a dead body — they would be considered unclean for seven days. Perhaps, fearing that the man might die and that he would become ritually impure, the priest chose ritual duty over mercy.
Jesus deliberately includes this detail to show that performing God's service cannot come at the cost of ignoring human suffering. True service is never devoid of compassion.
Similarly, a Levite passes by. He too sees the man and walks away. Biblical scholars suggest that perhaps fear of being blamed for the man’s suffering kept him from helping — a fear we still encounter today in society. People often hesitate to help those in distress, worrying that it might bring trouble upon them. This societal tendency to ignore the suffering around us is something Jesus strongly challenges through this parable.
Finally, a Samaritan — a person despised and excluded by the Jews — sees the man, feels compassion, and takes action. Jesus highlights this to teach us that virtue and godliness are not confined to race, religion, or status. The Good Samaritan became a symbol of the true neighbor, and an image of what it means to love without boundaries.
Jesus invites us all through this story to ask not “Who is my neighbor?” but rather:
“To whom can I be a neighbor?”
Whoever is in need — regardless of caste, creed, religion, or background — is our neighbor. Even a small act of help we offer to them is considered part of God's own mission.
Those who love Jesus and live His words are invited to manifest the same compassion that the Good Samaritan showed.
Let us live this mission of God with humanity and mercy — realizing that true divine service is expressed through human kindness.
So today, let us pray for God’s grace:
- To serve Him faithfully, and
- To show love to others generously.
Let us walk in the light of His commandments, making His love our own and sharing it through our lives.
With love and prayers,
Fr. J. Sahaya Raj
Diocese of Trichy
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