07.08.25 - Gospel Night & Good Samaritan

Opening Prayer            

Heavenly Father,

We ask you to send your blessings to all the members of this Bible Study group and their families,

especially those who are in the midst of struggling or suffering.

May You bring them peace, comfort, healing, and good fortune.

Tonight, we also ask you to walk with us as we seek Your wisdom and understanding

In all our reflections and Gospel studies.

And as you taught us to pray together…

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. 

Upcoming major holy days:   August 15:  Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Today’s Agenda

1.     Catholic Reflection #1:  What is “Ad Orientem”?

2.     Catholic Reflection #2:   Is cremation permitted by the Church?

3.     Gospel Reading #1:  A Question about Fasting, Matthew 9:14-17

4.     Gospel Reading for the 15^th Sun in Ordinary Time:  The Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37

Quote of the Week:  

Language is the clothing of your thoughts. Try always to look your best. – Samual Johnson

Can you explain “Ad Orientem”?

What is "Ad Orientem"?

It means “Towards the East.” In a liturgical context, Ad Orientem refers to the practice of the priest facing the same direction as the congregation during Mass (above), towards the East. This is in contrast to the “Novus Ordo” Mass, where the priest faces the people. Novus Ordo became popular after Vatican II, although this was not mandated by the Council.

Ad Orientem is not about the priest turning his back to the people, but rather about him leading the congregation in a common pilgrimage towards the Kingdom of God, and invoking the return of the Lord. We are all facing God together.

Sometimes, Mass can be a mix of both: the priest faces the people at the Mass greeting, during the Gospel reading and homily, the kiss of peace, and Holy Communion; he faces God for the Offertory and Consecration of the Eucharist.  

Though the Church does not presently require the priest to face East during Mass, there is a historical preference and theological significance associated with it.

What would the theological reasons be for facing East?

-         Christ is expected to return from the East for the Last Judgment. – Isa 42:2, Mt. 24:27

-         Christ brings light to the world, symbolized by the sun rising in the east.

-         A return to humanity’s original home – Paradise: “God planted a garden in Eden, in the east” – Gen 2:8.

-         The Tabernacle God had Moses build in the desert always faced east. (Ex 27:13)

-         When Solomon’s Temple was built to replace the Tabernacle, it’s entrance also faced East.

Questions

Is cremation permitted by the Church?

The Catholic Church permits cremation, provided it does not demonstrate a denial of faith in the resurrection of the body. The Church continues to prefer the practice of burying the bodies of the deceased, because this shows greater esteem towards the deceased. Here's a breakdown of the Church's teaching on cremation:

Preference for Burial:

The Church considers burial the most appropriate way to show reverence and respect for the body, as it clearly expresses faith and hope in the resurrection. The Church earnestly recommends that the pious custom of burying the bodies of the deceased be observed.

Acceptance of Cremation:

Cremation is permitted as long as it is not chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine. The Church raises no doctrinal objections to cremation when chosen for sanitary, economic, or social considerations.

Reasons Contrary to Christian Doctrine: 

Cremation is not allowed if it is chosen to deny Christian dogmas, out of animosity toward the Church, or as a result of membership in a secret society. These are not uncommon as cremation was common among pagan practices.

Respect for Remains:

Whether burial or cremation is chosen, the remains of the deceased must be treated with love and respect. The ashes should be kept in a sacred place, such as a cemetery or a dedicated area designated by ecclesiastical authority. This ensures they are not excluded from the prayers and remembrance of their family or the Christian community and prevents any unfitting or superstitious practices.

The Church emphasizes that the choice of burial or cremation does not affect the soul's immortality or God's power to raise the body to new life. The resurrection will occur with the same bodily identity, though the body of the resurrected person will not necessarily consist of the same elements it had before death.

A Question about the Practice of Fasting, Matthew 9:14-17

Context: Our next reading starts when the disciples of John the Baptist complain to Jesus that they and the Pharisees fast, but Jesus’ disciples don’t fast. They want to know why. Jesus responds by saying it is inappropriate to fast at a wedding feast and then gives them a talk about wineskins. Ha! Let’s see if we can connect these dots, but first…

Why do we fast?

There can be many reasons to fast – such as losing weight, repentance, or offering food up for some good intention – but the main point of fasting is to put a limit on our desires, even good ones, which helps us gain mastery over ourselves, control our instincts, and train our will towards the good. This detachment from worldly things allows the soul to be emptied of material concerns, making it pure and light for divine activity. In other words, to make room for God. That’s why fasting/abstaining is a good annual practice during Lent!

In the Old Testament, fasting was also used to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. But this was also connected to turning one’s life around, which is what repentance means. Recall: “Repent, the Kingdom of God is at hand!”

The coming of the Messiah was prophesied to be a reconciliation between God and Man, between Heaven and Earth. A number of times in the Old Testament, this reunification was presented in poetic, nuptial language – such as wedding or marriage – with the Messiah as the God’s groom and the people of God (the Church) as the bridegroom.

Matthew 9:14-17

Then the disciples of John approached him and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees often fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 

Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast…  

People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.  Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."

If the Bridegroom (Messiah-Jesus) is finally present for the marriage, should all the guests be fasting?

Of course, not. Note that Jesus is also telling his audience who he is without being so explicit as to get him arrested before it was his time.

What does Jesus mean when he says, “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away… and then they will fast.”

            When Jesus is arrested (taken away) and crucified, it will become appropriate then for his disciples to fast and mourn.

Analogy of the Wineskins

Why can’t you put new wine into old wineskins?

Old wineskins have already stretched to capacity with the fermentation of the wine. If new wine is poured into old skins, the newly-fermenting wine will expand and burst the old skins and both will be lost.

What does the old wine and new wine represent?

            The Old Covenant under the Mosaic Laws, and the New Covenant through faith and being filled with the Holy Spirit. The old wineskins cannot contain the outpouring of saving grace and the Holy Spirit that is the Gospel.

What do the wineskins represent?

We are the wineskins. “Behold, I make all things new” (Rev 21:5). 

Our old selves (old skins) are insufficient for eternal life. We have to give up the old self (ego) and make way for faith, surrender, and God.  

“Put off the old self… and put on the new self…” – Eph 4:22-24.

Not only that, but our new wineskins – our new selves – are a gift from Jesus’ cross, and they come equipped with the Holy Spirit.  

Let’s put those wineskins on!

Who is My Neighbor – The Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25-37

Context:  

Tonight’s reading, the Parable of the Good Samaritan, is one of the most famous parables in the world. As usual, this is no simple story but one that opens up the love of God – and Christianity – to Jesus’ Jewish audience.

As noted in the title above, the issue before Jesus’ listeners – and us – is “who is our neighbor?” We may not think this is a difficult question because we’ve been exposed to Jesus’ teachings for such a long time, but for the 1^st century Jews, this had been a much-debated topic for centuries.

Also, most people think Jesus invented the saying, “Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and love your neighbor as yourself,” but as we can see in our reading, the Jews already knew this from Deuteronomy 6 (love God) and Leviticus 19 (love neighbor). The unresolved question was, who is my neighbor? Some Jews considered “neighbor” to mean just their tribe; others to whomever lived next door to them; and others to all “Jews.” These are actually quite reasonable positions – one’s we would probably take ourselves. But just as Jesus came to offer salvation to all mankind, he is about to dispel their old notions of neighbor.  

In the story, we will see right away that it is a lawyer (scholar of Biblical law) who stands up to “test” Jesus. This man was already at the top of his profession and probably didn’t need Jesus’ help. But remember, this is the last year of Jesus’ ministry and the Pharisees and Scribes have already been trying to catch Jesus making a mistake so they could prove to the people that he was a fraud. The easiest way to get rid of Jesus was to catch him saying something they could challenge/ridicule.   

Luke 10:25-37

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?"

He said in reply, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength,and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

He replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live."

But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, 'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.'

Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"

He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy."

Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Exegesis (Study and Interpretation)

I will repeat the reading below so we can make comments throughout…

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you read it?" Notice how Jesus flips the question back to him. 

He said in reply, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength,and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

Jesus replied to him, "You have answered correctly; do this and you will live."

But because (the scholar) wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" 

There it is. No matter what answer Jesus gives, he is likely to alienate half the Jews and could find himself in opposition with the Temple leaders.

Jesus replied, "A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.

This is a problem because remember, the Jews are REQUIRED to help their neighbor (Lev 19:18).

What is the difference between a priest and a Levite?

           Both were from the tribe of Levi but priests were higher/ordained from the lineage of Aaron (Moses’ brother, who God put in charge of the Tabernacle in the desert) and the Levites were assistants in the Temple (like our deacons today).

But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight.

Who were the Samaritans?

           The Jews did not even consider the Samaritans to be Jewish. They had been part of Northern Israel back in 722 BC when they were conquered by the Assyrians, but since then the Samaritans were mixed blood. The Samaritans set up their own temple and worshipped Yahweh but their religious practices differed significantly from the Jews; they were considered “outside the Covenant.” The Jews did not consider it safe to travel through Samaria, so they went around it.  

The Samaritan approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.

1)     Jesus teaches us to love our enemies, but now he is using the Jew’s enemies to love the Jews - ha! 

2)     What the Samaritan did thus far would have been enough to satisfy Jewish law. But he doesn’t stop there.  

Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, 'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.'

     You must be kidding! Nobody in the world loves like this!  Who loves like this? 

Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"

He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy."

Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

Neighbor defined further…  

At the beginning of the story, most of us are probably thinking that the “neighbor” Jesus is talking about is the man lying wounded on the road – and in one sense, he is. But by the end of the story, we now begin to see the Samaritan as the neighbor. That’s why the lawyer was correct in answering that the neighbor is the one who showed mercy. In other words, in the beginning, we think the parable is about whom we should assist. But the end is really about who we are called to be. We are called to be like the Good Samaritan, that is, to be the neighbor.

2^nd Conclusion: Jesus’s parables are seldom single-dimensional. What deeper story is hidden below the surface?

The early Fathers of the Church (i.e., Clement of Alexandria 175 AD, Origen (200 AD), and Augustine (400 AD) all saw the story as a narrative of humanity’s redemption by Jesus. In other words, this version is not just about us, but Jesus himself.

1)     Who is the half-dead man on the road?              Adam, wounded by sin, kicked out of Eden.

2)     Who are the priest and Levite?                              The Law and the Prophets, who are unable to save man.  

3)     Who is the Good Samaritan?                                   Jesus, not a member of the Temple priesthood, saves man.

4)     Who is the Inn/Innkeeper?                                     The Church. Jesus delivers man to the Church, pays for our sins  

going forward, and promises to return (the Second Coming).

So not only is the parable about how we should treat others, it is a story of what Christ has done for us. It is a retelling of the entire Gospel!

Closing Prayer:

Lord, we thank you for the blessing of reading your word together.

We ask that these words of life, truth and hope would continue to impact us in the week ahead.

May your love and grace follow each of us as we return to our daily lives, refreshed and blessed by you.

We ask all this in your name.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed are thou among women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death. 

Amen.