The Lord has assured us of His salvation and that His word will be fulfilled. The first reading shows the people of Israel looking back at their history and discovering how God has always been faithful. This fact gives them courage and hope for the future. The gospel invites us to be constantly vigilant, to be found always ready for the Lord who comes to bring liberation. He may come whenever we least expect Him. The second reading speaks of Abraham and Sarah, models of faith in God. They heeded the voice of God, and always responded readily; they believed his salvation even when all appearances suggested the exact contrary. They were ever vigilant. We too, like the Hebrews, addresses of the letter of St. Paul, are at times tempted to get discouraged. We are all anxiously awaiting for the fulfillment of the promises of liberation and peace proclaimed by Jesus, but they never seem to take place. Feuds, betrayals, unfaithfulness, corruption continue unabated on the earth, in our countries, in our nations and villages, even in our Christian communities. This is the time that our faith is being tested! This is when we must continue to believe like Abraham and Sarah, happy to see now and then some sign of the full salvation that will certainly come one day. And so as Jesus urges to his disciples he also gives us the same assurance as he did to them. He says to us in the gospel, ‘’Do not live in fear, little flock.’’ And yet fear is part of our life. The only thing we have to fear then, is not fear itself, but a lack of faith!

What does the term “rich” remind us of? A happy person, with a beautiful house, a new car, many servants, who can get what he or she likes, go where he or she pleases. The gospel of today is instead showing us the rich quite differently. Jesus is telling us that whoever hoards goods for himself or herself is a “fool”, a poor person who has got everything wrong in life. The first reading prepares this theme by giving us the reflections of the wise Qoheleth on the accumulation of riches that we must then leave to others. The second reading speaks of the new clothes that the Christians is wearing. The new behavior that characterizes him or her as disciple of Christ includes also a radically different relation with riches. And so to make it more clearly, Jesus tells us a parable about a rich man who is really concerned about saving lots of material wealth—as security against hard times. Jesus wants people to understand that in God’s eyes, true security is found in spiritual, not material wealth. For if we give most of our attention to material things we don’t see the needs of people around us, and therefore, don’t try to help them. This gospel then tells us to avoid greed in all its forms. And so the assurance of all we have in life is when we use our given wealth been that of spiritual or physical with our brothers and sisters in need.

The Bible is urging us to pray always, to thank God in all states and situations of life (1Thes 5:17-18). But what is prayer exactly? What is it to pray? When should we pray? How and why should we pray? The first reading and the gospel give us the replies to these questions. In order to be able to look at the world, people, and history as God looks at them. Christians need to purify their minds and hearts and this can take place only in prayer. The second reading tells us who the Christian is. He or she is one who, through baptism, has become a member of the body of Christ. Being in Christ, the disciple prays like the Master. And so all of this leads to an important conclusion. What is new or special about the prayer is not the nature or number of the petitions within the prayer. After all, the Jews often prayed that God’s name might be hallowed and that his will might be done. Psalm 51 from the Old Testament is an eloquent and fervent prayer for forgiveness which preceded the prayer for forgiveness in the “Our Father.’’ What is special about the prayer is the unique way in which Jesus addresses God. He called upon the Lord, the almighty, the creator of heaven and earth, the judge of the living and the dead as “Father.’’ And not exactly as “Father,’’ but as “Abba,’’ which means “Papa’’ or “Dad.’’ It was the way in which a little child, with intimate love and pure familiarity, addressed his parent. Of all the many words of Jesus which are recorded in the Gospels, surely “Abba’’ is among the most sacred. And yet we are invited, actually we are told, to address God as “Abba,’’ our Loving Father. The reason we can do so is that God has given us new life in company with Christ. It is the family life of the Blessed Trinity, the life we received at Baptism when we were made members of the Church, God’s family here on earth. Thus, whatever our posture or gestures may be during the Lord’s prayer at Mass we must realize how blessed we are to address God as Jesus did, to call him our “Abba.’’

Today’s first reading and the gospel are both linked by the theme of hospitality. The ever-ready and gratuitous hospitality is the symbol of all forms of service to our neighbors. The attention and kind generosity shown by Abraham towards the three visitors is a good example. The tale of Martha and Mary stresses instead that every service, even service to Christ, cannot be separated from listening to the Word. St. Paul is a model of service to his fellows. Few people were capable of loving like him, because few are those who have been so close to the word of God. This is the teaching from the second reading. “You are right, Martha, you are right! Don’t get excited!” replied Jesus, as if huddling in expectation of a beating, and smiling entered the kitchen followed by Mary. The two sisters then gave him an apron and told him to watch the fire under the pot with the chicken, inviting him to tell them the news from Galilee... Mary represents all women in the Church, but in a larger sense she is a model for everyone. We are called to be disciples of Jesus, to offer him the warm hospitality he experienced in that home in Bethany, to listen to him as intently as did Mary, to make him the priority of our lives, and to allow nothing and no one to deprive us of our relationship with him. Abraham in other hand, offered hospitality to the angels who were messengers from God. We are urged to offer hospitality to Jesus, who is the Son of God!

Our faithfulness and love of God, we learn from the gospel of today, will be assessed on the basis of our attitude to people. The true religion is the religion of life, not the religion of just beautiful words. The Samaritan could practice it because his heart was pure and capable of harboring the feelings that God has for the human person, that is, a heart capable of compassion. The first reading is telling us that the commandments are not something imposed from outside, but spring from the inner need of our heart. Also, the second reading may be seen in line with this theme: Jesus was the first in all, even in the love for his brethren. He was the first real and authentic ‘’Samaritan’’ of humankind. For the human race was waylaid by sin. Sin had tripped us of our dignity as human beings. It had robbed us, taking from us the grace of God. It had attracted us so severely that we all were like a person who is half dead. Jesus lifted us up, not on a beast, but on his own shoulders and brought us to the Church so that we could be cared for until he returns in glory on the day of our resurrection. As we go through, sin will continue to stalk us, waiting for an unguarded moment when it can attack us in our weakness. But we need never be alone in our struggle. It is vital that we learn the lesson of today’s responsorial psalm: “Turn to the Lord in your need, and you will live.’’ When we turn to the Lord we will realize that he is not too mysterious and remote for us. Jesus is not merely the Good Samaritan. He is the best!