Fr. Michael Williams

There was a nurse, a builder and a lawyer who all died. They are standing before St Peter. St Peter says to them, ‘Before you can come in you need to answer a question each’. So to the nurse he says, ‘What was the name of the ship that sunk in 1912 in the Atlantic Ocean?’ She answers swiftly, ‘the Titanic’ and so St Peter ushers her in to Heaven. Next St Peter says to the builder, ‘How many people were on the Titanic?’ The builder replied, ‘that’s amazing just before I came here I was reading about it in a magazine, ‘There were 1517 people who died on the Titanic’. St Peter said to the builder, ‘Well done! Come in, you’re correct, there were 1517 people who died on the Titanic’. Then St Peter turned to the Lawyer, ‘And your question: Name them?’

Many people are still asking the question the lawyer asked in today’s gospel, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer people are receiving from some quarters, is that we need to use the latest anti-wrinkle cream or have a face-lift or go into cold storage until they find a cure for the disease that is killing you. People are looking for eternal life on this earth, but eternal life is something that belongs to the next world. That’s not to say that there is no connection between this world and the next, because one does flow into the other; and the kind of life we live now determines our eternal life as the parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates.

The initial answer that Jesus gives in how to obtain eternal life is probably what most would have expected to hear: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself”.

But the lawyer follows up with another question, “And who is my neighbour?” Jesus answers by telling the story of the Good Samaritan.

In the story the Jewish priest and Levite walk past their Jewish brother who has been left “half dead” by the robbers. The Samaritan who walks past, forgets about religious differences, and only sees a human being who is in desperate need. The Samaritan “moved with compassion” shows incredible care and love towards his fellow human being.

After telling the parable, Jesus asks the lawyer a question, “Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour?” The answer is obvious, “The one who took pity on him”. Jesus is teaching us that the one who takes pity on the person in need is always the true neighbour. Helping the needy, and we all know needy people, is to be a Good Samaritan. To walk by on the other side is to make a mockery of religion, which is what the priest and Levite did in the story.

At the end of the gospel Jesus tells the lawyer, “Go and do the same yourself”. In other words go and take pity on those who you meet and who are in need. That is the road that leads to eternal life. The eternal life of heaven is filled with Good Samaritans, people who while on earth gave their time and energy to needy people. And as Jesus told the lawyer to “Go, and do the same”, so he is telling us today, because that is what we must ‘do to inherit eternal life”.