Signposts On The Way

In today’s Gospel passage (Lk. 10:25-37), Jesus erects a very basic and essential signpost almost 2,000 years ago.  After Jesus affirms that love of God and love of neighbor are necessary for eternal life, a “scholar of the law” challenges him to clarify what that word “neighbor” means. Telling a story, Jesus clarifies: it is active, compassionate response to another human being in need, regardless of that person’s ethnicity or religion.

On this second Monday of October, the U.S. recognizes Columbus Day AND Indigenous Peoples Day.  This day notes our history of a tremendous amount of clash, including (but not limited to): genocides and forced displacements of American indigenous peoples; the doctrine of Manifest Destiny; settler-on-settler persecution based on religion (including of Catholics); the Catholic Church’s forced “conversions” of indigenous peoples; and capture and importation of Africans for slave labor.

Today, our country continues to clash based on both ethnicity and religion, including (but not limited to): violence against people of a different race; destruction of synagogues, mosques and other places of worship, and threats against people who worship there; misinformation campaigns and threats spread online; and institutionalized unequal access to basic resources.  Some people seek to ban education regarding clashes based on ethnicity or religion; others seek to resolve such clashes and make reparation to those harmed; many want only the view with which they agree to be expressed.    

Jesus’ 2,000-year-old very basic and essential signpost remains: In clashing, it’s our neighbor with whom we are clashing, but the path to eternal life points us in another direction.  How is Jesus prompting me to follow that path of life now?  And how is He prompting me to be a living, vibrant part of His signpost for others?