Message of 10-3-16

Published: Mon, 10/03/16

A Daily Spiritual Seed
Monday: October 3, 2016
Message of the Day
Do little things as if they were great, because of the majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ who dwells in thee.
  - Blaise Pascal
Readings of the Day
Gal 1:6-12;    Ps 111:1b-2, 7-8, 9 and 10

Lk 10:25-37

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law?
How do you read it?”
He said in reply,
“You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your being,
with all your strength,
and with all your mind,
and your neighbor as yourself.”
He replied to him, “You have answered correctly;
do this and you will live.”

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, 
“And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, 
“A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
‘Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Reflection on the Scripture
“And who is my neighbor?”

Jesus might have countered the law scholar’s question with a rhetorical question of his own: “Who isn’t your neighbor?” Instead, Jesus tells the intriguing story of the Good Samaritan. As he describes the compassion, generosity and ongoing concern of neighborly love, the notion that anyone should be excluded evaporates. We are led to question whether anyone should be exempted from the duty to serve those in need; and we know that millions across the globe live in dire need today. May our love for God be fervent and so lead us to a healthy balance in self-care, care for those in our charge, and care for our brothers and sisters around the world.

“For the grace to be channels of God’s love, we pray.”

- from preacherexchange.com

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Spiritual Reading
Theological Gems from Emile Merch's Theology of the Mystical Body
- selected by Jim and Tyra Arraj

Book III: Christ
 
Chapter 11: Nature of the Redemption

359. Christ is God by being the Son.

The God of the Incarnation is God as attained by faith alone, rather than God as known analogically by our unaided intellect.