To the Ends of the Earth: Witness – Week 9, Day 1 – Real Brotherly Love Is Action Love

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Luke 10:29–37

This parable exemplifies what it means for us as Christians to put love into action. To Jesus’ listeners, this story would have been scandalous. The Jews hated the Samaritans and considered them half-breed traitors to the true faith. To see a Samaritan as the hero in this story would have been shocking. Likewise, to see a priest and a Levite avoiding an injured man for their own personal reasons (avoiding ritual impurity, fear of ambush, inconvenience, etc.) seemed to turn cultural norms upside down. In this parable, Jesus clearly demonstrated that what matters most to him is compassion that turns mercy into action.

When we see a need and do nothing, how can we say we truly believe? One of the beautiful things about being Catholic is that we see salvation as faith working itself out over and over, day by day, in acts of charity. The Spirit of God gives us grace that takes our faith and turns it into acts of love. Witnessing through action to what is in our hearts blesses us and transforms us into the men God has made us to be. That is why we can talk about working out our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2:12) and at the same time counting it all joy (Jas 1:2).

Questions for reflection

Have you ever offered kind words to another but stopped short of loving action?

How does working out your faith through acts of charity bring you joy and strength?

Who in your life needs your loving action to help him out or lift him up?

Praying with Scripture

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. (Gal 6:2).

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