LIVING OUT THE COMMANDMENT OF LOVE

Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Bible Readings: Deuteronomy 30:10-14; 2; Luke 10:25–37

About two months ago, some Capuchin Friars in Nigeria were involved in a ghastly motor accident. Some died immediately while others sustained injuries. Those with injuries managed to make it to the roadside in search of help. For up to an hour, they stood waving vehicles down, but vehicle after vehicle passed them by. Perhaps, the motorists actually felt pity for victims, but fear of insecurity or the urgency of their trip made them not stop. The readings of today made that incident re-echo in mind. Today, we are reminded that God’s law which is summed up in the commandment to love is not just a feeling but a decision to act with mercy and compassion even when it is inconvenient.

In the first reading, we find Moses speaking to the Israelites at the threshold of the Promised Land. He reminded them that God’s command is not far away; it is very near - in the mouth and heart (Deut. 30:12-14). This is foundational. The commandment to love God and neighbor is already written in our heart. Every human being knows, deep inside, what is good, what is just, and what is loving. But as Moses added, we have only to carry it out. The real challenge is not in knowing what to do, but in actually doing it. The law of love is not about how much we know, but how much we obey in action.

The parable of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel reading shows us how to live that love concretely. In that parable, a man was attacked by a robber and left half-dead by the roadside. A priest, a religious leader, likely returning from temple service passed by, saw the wounded man but walked by. Perhaps for fear of ritual impurity or personal safety as the road from Jericho to Jerusalem was as unsafe as most Nigerian roads. Then came a Levite, also a man of religious duty. He too walked by, avoiding the wounded man. Lastly, a Samaritan, a man despised by Jews, considered unclean and heretical. Yet, he was the one moved with compassion. He saw, he approached, he cared, and he sacrificed. He did not just feel love; he lived love.

Jesus deliberately chose the Samaritan as the hero of the story to shake the audience’s assumptions. It is not religious position, but merciful action that makes one a neighbor. Through the parable, Jesus redefined neighbor not as someone close to me in blood, tribe, or religion, but as anyone in need whose pain I have the power to alleviate. The priest and Levite had religious status but lacked compassion. The Samaritan, a cultural outsider, showed what it means to live mercy. We too are called not to ask, “Who is my neighbor?” but, “How can I be a neighbor?”

In the second reading, Saint Paul presents us with the image of Christ who is not just a teacher of love, but the full embodiment of it. He is the true Good Samaritan who saw humanity beaten by sin, stripped of grace, and half-dead by the road, and did not just pass by our wounded word but stopped, embraced it, and gave his own body and blood to heal our wounds. Unlike the priest and Levite, Jesus did not love from afar. He entered into our suffering to redeem us. If we are to follow him, we too must become visible signs of God’s love - healers, reconcilers, and companions on the road of life. 

In a world divided by ethnicity, wounded by violence, and soaked in mistrust, today’s Gospel is a loud call to action. The road to Jericho is all around us: the woman abandoned in the hospital; the child begging on the street; the man wrongly accused and left to rot; the family grieving silently without support. These are not strangers. These are our neighbors. And Christ asks us not just to believe in love, but to live it.

So today, Jesus says to you and to me: Go and do likewise. Love not just in word, but in action. Love not just those close, but those in need. Love not when it is easy and convenient, but when it is costly. Because love, when it becomes real, transforms the world. Amen.