15th Sunday Ordinary Time C 13 July 2025 Sermon

15th Sunday Ordinary Time (C) 13 July 2025 Good Samaritan 

This parable can be understood from different points of view. We can see Christ as the good Samaritan. We can see ourselves being that Samaritan in imitation of Christ. Or we can see ourselves as the victim, the one who is bashed.

To take the second view, we wonder with the lawyer who is my neighbour, hoping for less responsibility; but it turns out to be everyone is my neighbour.

We can prove this by imagining a person lying bashed on the road. Whom can we refuse to help? Someone of a different colour, religion, social standing? We see at such times that we must disregard any prejudice, and do something to help.

What unites us here is our common humanity. Everyone is a child of God.

We are tempted to restrict our responsibility to lesser numbers or lesser commitment.  Lesser numbers, meaning people like us, people we know.

Lesser commitment meaning we do what we have to do to help, but we do not want to get involved in anyone else’s problems. The Good Samaritan, as we see, took far more trouble than the minimum, and that is Our Lord’s way.

And we are tempted to exclude from our love those who are unlovable, or worse still, they could be our enemies, even people deliberately setting out to harm us. Surely not them too? Yes we have to do good to them if we can (Ga 6,10).

St Paul says: while we were still sinners Christ died for us (Rm 5,8).  God can love those who have nothing to recommend them. And we must follow the same line.

Whatever practical action may have to be taken, we are always praying for the wellbeing of others; praying for each and every person that they find their true place with God. Praying that they will be saved, eventually entering Heaven.

We want them to achieve their full potential – not necessarily in worldly terms but in spiritual. This means that we want others to know, love and serve God.

We want everyone to know Jesus Christ. Anyone can change. Some will need more prayer than others. Some may be beyond reach but we do what we can. We must want it (salvation) to happen even if we do not think it is likely.

Some people do not want to be helped, especially if it is a religious-based solution!

We do not force anyone, neither does God. The most we do is offer a way out of their troubles. We wish them well, and pray they will see the light.

People who have been changed through an encounter with God's grace and mercy are grateful for the experience. Those who reject God would be happier if they accepted Him instead.

It is like realising after years how good our parents were, or certain teachers at school etc. It can take a while to sink in. The same extends to God as well; we can complain and argue at first, but later we see how He was helping us.

God creates all of us and all of them, and wants to draw all people to Himself (Jn 12,32).

He will hear the prayer of any repentant sinner. And all the more so if others are praying for that same sinner. Our combined prayer makes a stronger assault for good.

This is the way that divine love works. It breaks down the barriers that people put up to resist God, and wins their assent (still voluntary).

While we broaden our own outlook on charity we are being set free ourselves from lack of charity, a more urgent problem than from being bashed and robbed!