Today’s readings call us to love and serve others with compassion, and to care especially for those most in need.
The First Reading teaches us that God’s word is not beyond our reach. It is already in our hearts; it is there for us to proclaim and live out with all our heart and soul.
The Psalm celebrates the compassion and kindness of God, who hears and revives the hearts of those in need, and acts to save them.
In the Gospel, a lawyer asks Jesus, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus uses the familiar parable of the Good Samaritan to answer both this and the lawyer’s second question, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ Regardless of who that person is, we must put their needs before our own. Just as Jesus shows compassion and mercy to us through his saving love, so must we try to do the same for others.
St Paul (Second Reading) reminds us that Christ is the One who shows us God. Through him everything is created and held together. Christ leads the Church, reconciling all things by his death on the cross.