THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
31 OCTOBER 2021
This
scribe knows that the Pharisees have listed 613 commandments drawn from the Law
of Moses. Instead of being hostile and
trying to trap Jesus, he is asking an honest question. He wants to know: of all of these many commandments, which is
the first? Jesus cuts through all the complications and quotes Deuteronomy
6:6. It is the Shema Israel prayed by
every faithful Jew several times a day:
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God
is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with
all your strength.” Without hesitating,
he quotes Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” He joins two existing commandments in such a
radical way that they can never be separated.
If we love God, then we must love our neighbor. If we love our neighbor, then we must love
God.
In the
Gospel of Luke, a scribe asks the same question. But he is trying to trap Jesus and wants to
know who his neighbor is. In response, Jesus
tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. He makes it clear that anyone whom we
encounter and needs our help is our neighbor.
At one level, we define “encountering” in terms of physical contact. In this era of mass communication, we can
encounter neighbors in need from around the world. Those in developing nations know that we are
blessed with more material goods and live more comfortably in our first world
country. We can be inundated with
requests for aid from around the world.
That is why
we have a Diocesan Office of the Propagation of the Faith. Individual parishes cannot possibly respond
to those who seek their help. They are
invited to apply to the Propagation of the Faith to assign them to one parish
in our Diocese. That parish invites the
mission speaker to make an appeal at Mass and take up a collection to respond
as a neighbor.
The Office
has assigned Father Larry Kanyike’s parish in Uganda as our “neighbor” this
year. We pray for his parish every
Sunday. Father Larry himself had planned
to be with us to make his appeal in person.
However, the COVID situation in Uganda has presented him from coming. Since we have been friends since our
ordination in 1974, I can speak confidently about his needs. In the past, we have helped him to build a
new church, a new school, a new convent, and provide upgrades to Saint Monica
Health Clinic (the only source of health care in the area). We have also helped him to pave the road in
front of his school, protecting the children from breathing in dust every day.
I traveled
to Uganda for the dedication of his new church and can assure you that 100% of
our donations go directly to the good of his people. There are no administrative costs. He keeps nothing for himself. In fact, he made the front page of the local
paper on the Sunday of the dedication.
He was contrasted with so many “prominent” people in the area who buy
themselves fancy cars, new shoes, and expensive suits from the donations they
have received.
Father
Larry tells me that his parishioners have been devastated by the pandemic,
which is still raging beyond control in Uganda.
Many of his parishioners have become sick, and too many have died. People have lost their jobs and cannot
support their families. The pandemic is
wreaking much more havoc in his parish than what we have experienced here. He cannot serve his parish without our help.
In his
name, I thank you for being a good neighbor in this particular situation. There are envelopes in all the pews for your
contribution. You can take one home and
bring it back next week. I witnessed the
intense gratitude of his parishioners myself a few years ago. As our assigned neighbors, they continue to
be grateful today.
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