What Would You Do?

Homily for the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C
Deut. 30.10-14 Psalm 69 or 19 Colossians 1.15-20 Luke 10.25-37

There’s a reality news show on television that raises real life ethical questions and puts people in these situations to see how they will react. The show is called, simply, “What would you do?” Perhaps you’ve seen it. One recent episode saw a man trying to drug his date by putting a powdery substance in her glass of wine while she was away from the table. Another episode had people witness gas theft from a filling station. The concept of the show is to use hidden cameras and actors to see how real, unsuspecting people react to these situations – would they say something to the woman whose drink was drugged; would they try to stop the attempted gas theft? And then, of course, beyond the people on screen – what would you do? It’s like a modern-day version of the parable of the Good Samaritan.

But one of the main differences between the gospel and the television show is that the gospel gives us a clear set of criteria for knowing how to act in these kinds of situations. We are to love other people as ourselves, Jesus tells us, and we are to treat them with mercy – with kindness and compassion. In other words, we are to treat everyone around us as people, created and loved by God, our brothers and sisters; not as objects to be manipulated, or as illusions to be forgotten, or as distractions to be ignored. Of course, as the TV show points out, there are many other things to consider. You might not want to make a scene, or you might be concerned for your own safety if you react to another person’s actions. But when it comes down to it, the human response, the Christian response, is to do whatever necessary to treat people with love and mercy, with kindness and compassion. It’s not easy, and most of us fail many times before we have the courage and the true faith to be like the Good Samaritan. But if we call ourselves Christian, then we must start developing the habit of treating people with mercy. For in doing that, we will inherit eternal life.