15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Deu 30:10-14
Col 1:15-20
Lk 10:25-37
“…the Word is very near to you…”
Today’s readings trace the divine revelation journey of Jesus Christ. Deuteronomy 30:13 asks: “Who will cross the seas for us, bring it back to us, so that we may hear it and keep it?” In the very next line, the Scripture writer in this Old Testament passage answers prophetically: “No, the Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance.”
This prophecy was fulfilled in the Mystery of the Incarnation, when Jesus, our Lord and our God, the Second Person in the most Holy Trinity, the Word of God became man. So near was he to us, he became one of us; he lived, walked, suffered and died among us. Jesus, the Word Incarnate, is God. He is also the Father’s gift, sent to us to make the first move to be among us, to love us first, and to show us the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Colossians 1:15-20 encapsulates Jesus’ role as “the image of the unseen God… for in him were created all things in heaven and on earth: everything visible and invisible”. Through him also, God came to carry out his plan of building the Church, for Jesus is he who “holds all things in unity”, with the Church as his body and him as its head. St. Paul’s letter underscores that Jesus, as the Lord of all (Powers, Thrones, Sovereignties and Dominations) is the ultimate revelation of our Father.
Everything the Father wanted us to know about his love, mercy, will, plans and desires for us came through Jesus. By establishing the Church through his Apostles, Jesus perfectly revealed and carried out the plan of our Father in heaven. Jesus’ death, Resurrection and Ascension also sealed our hope of salvation and eternal life, for it was the Father’s will that “all things [are] to be reconciled through him and for him”.
Finally, Jesus’ message for his Apostles and us in the Gospel’s parable of the Good Samaritan is simply to follow him – the Good Samaritan. Our ‘yes’ means imitating him in all ways, not just when we feel like it, when it’s for someone we like, or when it’s convenient. He has ascended and is no longer here walking among us as a man and our God, so we as his flock, his people, his followers, his body — the Church — must carry on his work of love and mercy without exception or discrimination; inclusively, not exclusively.
Jesus was sent by the Father to save the world. Jesus did the Father’s will perfectly, and every day he wants us to exemplify him in our thoughts, words and deeds. Why should we allow him to live and love through us? To do so is to reveal God our Father’s healing and peace to those around us too, especially when the need to exercise the virtues of patience, charity, generosity and forgiveness is most difficult. It is certainly not by our own strength, but by God’s grace – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – that we are able to do so. In drawing from the source of love, and passing love on, we become instruments who, in our own humble capacity, also reveal the divine face of our Father to the world – just as Jesus did.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Susanah Cheok)
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are the face of the Father. To know you is to know our Father. Everything that you have taught us and revealed to us comes from our Father’s heart. You came to us according to his plan; you died and rose again to open heaven’s door for us. Please help us to always follow you, to ascend to the divine, in showing his face to everyone we meet. Amen.
Thanksgiving: Thank you, Lord, for never giving up on us, even though we often turn a blind eye and walk away from helping others. Thank you for your utter patience in waiting for us to say yes to following you, our ultimate Good Samaritan. Amen.
OXYGEN 
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