Daily Mass Readings
To read the Mass Readings for today, please click here: USCCB Daily Mass Readings (The past and upcoming Sunday Readings can be found by clicking the calendar on the right side of that page).
For video reflections on the readings, please click here: USCCB Reflections
Reflections on the Readings for this upcoming Sunday
By: Mike Glotzbach, Director of Christian Formation,
Mother Teresa of Calcutta Catholic Church, Topeka, KS
15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Scripture (7/10/16):
Dt 30:10-14; Ps 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37; Col 1:15-20; Lk 10:25-37
The first reading for next Sunday is from the book of Deuteronomy, part of the Pentateuch in the Christian tradition, and part of the Torah for our Jewish sisters and brothers. Though it was said to have been written by Moses (c. 14th century BCE) it was probably composed during the second great captivity in Babylon (8th century BCE), and was an attempt by the Jewish captives to explain why a God that loved them with a covenant love could allow them to be taken into foreign slavery. Deuteronomy literally means the second law, and was simply a recounting of the Lord’s promises and commands with an emphasis on the necessity of the Chosen People to keep their part of the covenant.
Today’s passage is a very tender and touching reminder of Yahweh’s intense desire to be with humankind. Heed the voice of the LORD, keep God’s commands and statutes, and return to the LORD with all your heart. Sounds like a large order, but it was lovingly presented. It is not a mysterious and remote order. It is not something out there in the sky (where we somehow usually picture heaven), nor is it something far away beyond the sea, such that someone would have to go the sky or beyond the sea in order to determine what is being asked. It is simply very near to us, already lovingly placed in our mouths and hearts by Yahweh. In today’s language we would call it the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Thanks to our gracious Lord, we have everything we need, we only have to “carry it out.”
The Gospel is the very familiar parable of the Good Samaritan, which basically has two separate parts. Going back to the honor and shame culture, honor was thought to be a finite and limited quantity. The scholar of the law sought to “test” Jesus. A polite way of saying he was trying to shame him so that the scholar would gain a bit more honor. Jesus, of course, nicely turned things around by asking the expert on the law what he thought the answer might be. He correctly answered to love the Lord, your God, with your whole being and your neighbor as yourself, both ideas put forth in the Law. Sensing that he had been foiled, he tried to “justify” himself by asking who his neighbor is.
A man fell victim to robbers on the road to Jericho, and was stripped, beaten and left half-dead. A priest from the temple passed him by, as did a Levite, a helper in the temple. How often have we done that, when faced with a person or situation we didn’t want to deal with. Finally, a hated and despised Samaritan came down the road, ministered to the man and paid for his further recovery at a local inn. He ignored the centuries old animosity between Jews and Samaritans. Jesus asked the scholar who treated the injured man as a neighbor? Obviously it was the Samaritan. So we have a simple formula which we all find very difficult to live out. Love God with all your being, your neighbor as yourself, and oh, by the way, everyone you encounter is your neighbor in need of help.
Focus Questions for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
by Fr. Thomas Hickey, Pastor of St. Stephen Catholic Church, Hamden CT
- What does Moses urge the people to do in the first reading? Is this too much to ask? Is it too much for us to do?
- What did Moses mean when he said that the commands of God are something very near you, already in your mouths and in your hearts? Do you see God’s commands as something natural or unnatural? Are they in your heart?
- The Psalm enjoins us to Turn to the Lord in your need. Have you ever done that? Did you find God ready to help? Does He always do what we ask? What are we to do if it seems that He is not listening to us?
- Does this Psalm support the adage “God helps those who help themselves?” How would you re-write this adage based on the Psalm?
- How many attributes of Christ can you list in the second reading? What is the most meaningful one to you? Do you always think of Christ in these terms? What would happen in your life if you did?
- The mission of Christ among us is revealed in the second reading. What is it? Why is it that all things need to be reconciled? How did He bring about this reconciliation?
- Did the scholar of the law in the Gospel answer Jesus correctly? Why did he ask And who is my neighbor? Do we ever try to justify ourselves by “parsing” the commands of God in order to justify ourselves? How do you think Jesus would answer if you asked Him What must I do to inherit eternal life? Would you do it?
- What was the point of the parable Jesus told? Why do you think He used a Samaritan as the hero of the story? What do you think was the response of the scholar of the law to this parable? Who is your neighbor?
- The first reading says that God’s commands are not hard or mysterious. How does that reflect in the first answer of the scholar of the law? Does Jesus make the command to love our neighbor harder or more mysterious by His parable? Is the second question Jesus asked the scholar of the law harder or easier to answer?
- What has God spoken to you, and what do you intend to do about it?