Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Mass Readings
This week we begin hearing selections from St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians. The basic context of this letter revolves around the question of circumcision. Circumcision, is, of course, an important requirement of the Jewish faith now as it was at the time of Paul. Galatians plays out an early Church conflict inasmuch as the members of this Church were comprised of both Jews and Gentiles. One strain of Christianity at this time, following the Jewish tradition, argued that circumcision was necessary, and hence all Gentile males who wished to become Christian must undergo circumcision. The emotions in Paul’s words are not hard to detect: such a message represents for him a false portrayal of the gospel. The good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection does not necessitate circumcision. Throughout this letter to the Galatians, Paul will outline an argument for why this is so. Today’s gospel reading, meanwhile, contains the famous story of the “Good Samaritan,” wherein a wounded man is passed up by several who could help him. The parable is in answer to the question “Who is my neighbor?” and ultimately the scholar of the law states that the true neighbor is the one who shows mercy to the wounded man. The drama of the story highlights the mercy of the Good Samaritan, and perhaps we are so familiar with this story that we think we need dramatic situations in order to practice being merciful. We might also think that the best illustration of mercy comes in the form of charity, as in this case of the parable.
Such an interpretation of this passage will ultimately be limited and may limit our own willingness to make mercy a part of our Christian life. In returning to the first reading, for example, Paul faces a very practical situation within an actual Church community. Paul’s “mercy” in this letter to the Church of Galatia does not take the form of charity, as such, nor is it outreach to an individual in dire need. Rather, Paul’s mercy here is to challenge the community by speaking directly to them; he is being a neighbor to them by criticizing their failure to live the gospel.
Doubtlessly we encounter individuals on a daily basis who are in need of some form of mercy, whether corporal or spiritual. The story of the Good Samaritan features a corporal work of mercy, whereas Paul’s situation in Galatians represents a spiritual work of mercy. To remind us, the corporal works of mercy are feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, welcoming the stranger, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. The traditional Catholic spiritual works of mercy include counseling the doubtful, instructing the ignorant, admonishing the sinner, comforting the sorrowful, bearing wrongs patiently, and praying for the living and the dead.
If we consider those two lists of works of mercy, it is clear that we have ample opportunity in our daily lives to be merciful and hence to practice being neighborly. This is what God calls us to; this is where our belief leads us. Today, take some time to reflect on the above works of mercy and choose one or more of these to incorporate more fully into your life as a Christian. Let us pray that we might all be more merciful!
- Maria Morrow