The story of the "good Samaritan" is so familiar that it is easy to miss its point. The Samaritan’s charity has deep meaning, especially in contrast to the contempt and negligence of "proper Jews" (vv 31-32), because Jews and Samaritans shared an intense and long-lasting hatred for each other. This act of charity was like being kind — at considerable personal risk — to the very person one considers most obnoxious, contemptible, and unworthy of consideration.

It is precisely in this expansion of the concept of neighbor to include not only one’s townsfolk and follow citizens, but one’s enemies and outcasts as well, that the uniqueness of Jesus’ law is to be found. Although the relative importance of the many and various laws of the Jewish Scriptures was a frequent subject of discussion, the way of summarizing them into love of God and love of neighbor was common.

For us, it is noteworthy that Jesus here does not give a law or a counsel when asked what one must do "to inherit everlasting life." He gives an example; an unexpected and discomforting example; an example that continues to challenge us also to take a second look at the question, "who is my neighbor?"

The best of the Jewish tradition was not hemmed in by the sort of narrow legalism that characterized the scribes and lawyers of Jesus’ time. Law, for the most part, was not seen as an end in itself, but an attempt to reorder things according to God’s will. Thus a person who is sensitive to the way things are and sees the way things ought to be can discover God’s law already in his heart. The problem is that sinful self-centeredness blinds us to reality and hardens our hearts, requiring the constraint of external laws and rules to curb our pride and greed, and enforce at least the minimals of constructive social behavior. But true law is a matter of vision rather than force — we love those we can look on as worthy of love, and therefore we will treat them properly. Jesus says that God sees everyone as worthy of love, and he challenges us to adopt God’s vision of things. In the ever-deepening rifts among peoples, and the wholesale shirking of mutual responsibility and commitments that we find around us, it is more important than ever that Christians nurture this vision and give true example of it.

The source of most of our problems is our failure to love properly; the solution is found in turning to the Lord, not in self-seeking petition but in true change of heart and openness to him and one another. Response: "Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live."

Many scholars doubt that Colossians was actually written by Paul because neither the style of writing nor the situation seems to fit what we know of his character and ministry. If this is the case, this letter joins a rather sizable body of ancient literature, both scriptural and non-scriptural, actually written by unknown authors "in the name of" or "in the tradition of" a recognized authority to give their own work greater weight. (Other examples include the letter to the Hebrews, often attributed to Paul, the book of Wisdom, attributed to Solomon but written many centuries after him, and chapters 40-66 of Isaiah.)

As Galatians addressed the problem of Judaizing Christians leading an immature community into a sort of slavery to the Jewish law, Colossians appears addressed to a more mature community beginning to dabble in a form of Gnosticism. This "secret wisdom" type of religion blended elements of Judaism, Christianity, and paganism in an effort to unlock the "mysteries" of cosmic, elemental powers in order to gain control over them.

The hymn in today’s reading, extolling Christ as the center of all creation, directly opposes any worship of or allegiance to lesser powers, whether they be angels or forces governing the cycles of nature. In addition, it is a call for everyone to participate in Christ’s saving mission: that of reconciling all things in himself. Reading on (vv 21-22), we find that he overcomes the alienation that is sin. One cannot claim to be reconciled to God (that is, saved, or seeking salvation) and remain alienated from others. (See also the Solemnity of Christ the King, Year C.)

1. Try to figure of a cast of characters to make the "Good Samaritan" parable relevant for today.

2. Discuss what is reconciliation as the word is used by Paul and exemplified in the Gospel.