HOMILY 15TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME
JUST WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?
Lk 10.25-37 Deut 30.10-14 Col 1.15-20
Rhyme Bible (LJ Sattgastz): “The Good Man” (Lk 10)
Not so long ago, at least partly in order to justify cutting of foreign aid, and somewhat random and harsh deportations of so called illegal aliens, the medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas was brought up from the 13th century, as arguing a priority of love or affections, originally known as ordo amoris, in terms of Christian teaching. It was first spoken of by St Augustine, in the 5th century. This was twisted and misinterpreted to argue that family came first, that one’s own group or tribe or like-minded friends, then one’s own society or country, came before all others. Therefore, it was acceptable to treat outsiders as less important or second class, as if there was no obligation or responsibility to reach out or assist when in trouble or need.
And so we see, in our world today, a leaning in this direction, where there can be a tendency to think that we are better people, because of who we are, as with the argument that Western Civilization, as it is known, is superior to any other, just because we are part of it! I am often reminded of great peace advocate and proponent of non-violent non-co-operation against injustice, Mahatma Gandhi’s famous statement, when asked what he thought of Western civilization, after 2 World Wars between supposedly Christian nations, with all the devastation and loss of millions of lives, of combatants and civilians, and he said: “I think it would be a very good idea.”!! Another of his classic lines was to the effect that he may not be a Christian, but the message of Jesus is a good one to follow; it’s just a pity those who say they are Christians don’t seem to live that way, or there would have been no wars!! He certainly had a point, did he not?!
Given that we have just acknowledged NAIDOC week, and the significance and importance of the contribution of the culture and knowledge of our local neighbours, the indigenous peoples to our nation, it’s a sobering reminder that at the beginning of the 20th century, aboriginal people were generally considered almost sub-human, as a means of justifying their lands being appropriated by white settlement, and the often unspoken history of mistreatment and even massacres, now known as part of the Frontier Wars.
It was historian Henry Reynolds who first enlightened me about these issues, when I read his 1987 book, The Law of the Land, about the so-called doctrine of terra nullius, which described the territory of Australia as belonging to no-one, and so there was a right to occupy it at will. It took until the Mabo and Wik decisions of the High Court to overrule this thinking. With open-mindedness and willingness to learn, we now have a much deeper appreciation for indigenous spirituality, culture and appreciation of the land and broader environment.
Then, of course, there was the blatantly racist White Australia Policy, which lasted from Federation in 1901 until dismantling began in 1949, finally ending in 1973, which is why we now have such wonderful diversity in our own community, if we just look around, and in our broader society. Surely it’s obvious we are all neighbours!
So now for the classic, probably the most cited Jesus parable of all, commonly known as The Good Samaritan, and we’ve heard it so often, it can perhaps lose its punch. The context here is important, as the listeners are primarily of Jewish background and faith, presuming they were God’s favourites, the Chosen People, so that others were outsiders, not deserving of God’s consideration.
It seems there is an inherent human tendency, with a justified desire to look after our own, but then with a negative side effect of excluding others who are different, and finding it easier to build walls and exclude, rather than be open to differences, and to learn from others, and appreciate their dignity and value as equals to you and me.
It is surely clear from Jesus’ teaching and active ministry, that he was always focussed on the outsider, as much as the insider, with no hierarchy of importance, as opposed to the supposed ordo amoris, to justify exclusion and looking down on others.
Pope Francis reacted strongly to the misuse of the term, saying: “The true ordo amoris that must be promoted is that which we discover by meditating constantly in the parable of the Good Samaritan, that is, by meditating on the love that builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.” Interestingly, then Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, had a similar reponse on Twitter or X: “Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.” What is more, Jesus even makes the big call to even love our enemies, something far beyond anything prior to Jesus!
I conclude with a quote from a recent National Catholic Reporter article, by Cat Armas:
“The point wasn’t about setting limits on love. It was about breaking them down – taking the gospel beyond familiar spaces and into contested ones… The real question is not whether love begins at home. It’s what we do with it – how far we are willing to change ourselves and the world around us.”
“The religious leaders pass by, their robes untouched by the mess of it all. The Samaritan – a stranger, a foreigner, an enemy – stops. He is the one who shows love.” And I recall a young person saying, on hearing the parable, and he even came back later to see if more help and more money was needed by the poor chap who’d been bashed up and left for dead by the roadside. He even came back again!
“Jesus redefines family, not as a fortress to be guarded, but as an ever-widening circle. And the call to love is no different… If we find ourselves asking, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ – we are already missing the point. The better question is: How do I love without limits?” And that’s never easy, is it?!
And one of our 1960’s memories echoed back this week, with a message of “Peace and love, love and peace, everybody, peace and love, Ringo”, on his 85th birthday on 07/07, he who got by with a little help from his friends, as we’re all called to be!!
john hannon 13th July 2025
And since we’ve just had NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Day – formerly ATSIC) week, last week I used a little indigenous tale or parable, titled ‘The Magic Colours’ (by Cecilia Egan and Elizabeth Alger) , somewhat akin to ‘The Good Samaritan’, about why and how our native birds became so colourful, in a transformation from universally black, which the crow remained, as he alone refused to help the wounded dove!