Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - C - July 13, 2025
How do we reward those who exceed our expectations? How are these people like "neighbors" to us? How can we emulate them? Jesus told us a story that shows us the way.
FIRST READING In Deuteronomy, Moses challenged the lazy logic of the people. The moral duties of God's Law were clearly delineated, so easily understood.
PSALM Psalm 69 was a dark hymn for divine retribution. Yes, it was a cry for salvation and a song of lamentation, but it also included curses upon the author's enemies.
SECOND READING In his letter to the Colossians, St. Paul (possibly?) adapted an early Christian hymn to place Christ in the center of creation and salvation. These passages point to Jesus as the focal point for history and God's activity in history.
GOSPEL Who is my neighbor? This was the defense a scribe made to Jesus in Luke's gospel. What the legal expert did not expect was a simple story which would lay waste to any legal argument narrowing the command to love others.
DAILY READINGS for the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time.
CHILDREN'S READINGS In the story for the gospel, Joanie and her mother have car trouble on the way home from a soccer tournament. Their day was saved by the efforts of a Good Samaritan, the same kind of person illustrated in Jesus's parable.
FAMILY ACTIVITY In the famous parable, the Good Samaritan did that which was "above and beyond" what duty demanded. Encourage your family members to follow this example with an "Above and Beyond" poster, a place to list those activities that were beyond what was expected.