As Christians, we are familiar with the commandment of love. We have listened to numerous sermons about love for God and our neighbor. Concretely, what is it mean? How to love God and our neighbor?

On a regular day of ministry before the pandemic, I went to visit the sick together with a group of lay called “journey with God.” We entered a house and prayed for the sick. I was moved by a scene while looking at a lay servant and the sick together. I strongly felt the lay servant’s compassion and love by how she was looking at the sick. Suddenly, I grabbed my cellphone and took a picture, trying to capture what I was observing. (That picture is the cover of this reflection).

Back home, I looked at the picture and found it disturbing, so I doubted posting it on my Instagram account. A few days later, I was preparing my homily about today’s Gospel, the parable of the Good Samaritan. Right away, the picture’s scene came to my mind recalling the lay servant’s compassion and love for the sick. So I posted it with the title “unnoticed Samaritans of everyday life.” It made me realize so many people become good samaritans daily through genuine love for their neighbors. They are the contemporary “good Samaritans” who silently follow the commandment of love for God and neighbor.

We can get lost in the multitude of tasking and expectations about loving God and neighbor. What becomes clear is that “love” has priority over other rules. The priest and the Levite followed what they were expected to do - not to touch the man - they could become impure and unable to fulfill their duties and rituals. They fail to look at the bigger picture and help that poor man; they fail to meet the most important commandment. Sometimes we can get distracted by other minor things forgetting what matters.