In today’s Second Reading, Saint James, whose letter emphasizes the Christian calling to justice, first calls our attention to recognizing that all good giving and every perfect gift is from above (James 1:17).

Jesuit Father Hugo Rahner, the brother of theologian Karl Rahner, highlights the image “from above,” using the Spanish translation de arriba. Every good gift comes from above, not because of anything we did, nor on our own efforts. None of us placed an order through Prime Now or DoorDash, and all of a sudden what we desired is now on our doorstep. Rather, God, who knows us fully and loves us completely, knows what we need before we ask, and gives to us not because of our merits, but because of God’s generosity. 

How do we respond to God’s generosity? James calls us to humbly accept what God generously gives to us.

But as God has graciously blessed each and every one of us, the Holy Spirit stirs within us, causing us to reflect on who God is seeking us to be generous with. Societal structures prevent the infinity God has bestowed on certain people to be fully recognized. The Spirit calls us to ask, who are the marginalized in our midst, what are the obstacles that keep these people marginalized, and how can we work to remove these obstacles so that the ones who experience injustice can live with the full rights and abilities due to them?

Saint James confirms this for us: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Thus, our belief in God and our desire to give God thanks for what we have received must show itself in how we respond to those who suffer. 

We must ask ourselves, who are the orphans and widows in our time? There are so many, yet each and every one of them must be named. This includes the Indigenous peoples who for centuries suffered at the hands of European colonialists and their descendants; Black people, the descendants of people from Africa forced into slavery and transported across a dangerous journey over the Atlantic Ocean, only to come to a land that enacted far greater dangers to them and their descendants; those living south of the US border, who desire to come to America to escape violence and poverty, only to be dehumanized with terms such as “infestation,” and falsely labeled as criminals, murders and rapists; the continued inequality expressed towards nonwhite people in the US, othered for having different skin tones and appearances, which are gifts from God and deserving of honor, not ridicule; the people who live in lands where the natural resources are pillaged by multinational corporations, serving their god of greed and power, robbing from the native peoples the gifts God has given; the people of Gaza living in unfavorable conditions in their own land, and being forced out of the homes God has given them; those who live in fear due to their sexual orientation and how they identify; women treated as second class citizens, some of whom live with domestic abuse, suffer sexual abuse, and some even are sexually exploited and trafficked; and those suffering from either an explicit or implicit caste system that denies them their God-given dignity.

We must see the faces of each and every one of the persons who society looks down upon, and call these people our own, fighting for their dignity and justice. We cannot be like the world, and must be unstained from how the world dictates whose lives matter. We must be that sign of contradiction who acts as an obstacle to the obstacles society showers upon the marginalized – those deserving to receive, instead, the abundant love God showers upon them.

The Gospel reading shows us a contrast of the religion that is pure and undefiled. The Pharisees and Scribes, who make judgments based on written rules but do nothing for those in their midst experiencing injustice, do not truly serve God but their own ambition. Instead, Jesus calls us, as the Responsorial Psalm states, to do justice, and thereby abide in God’s presence.

In today’s Gospel, we witness the Pharisees’ emphasis on following rules rather than rectifying injustice. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus illustrates how religious leaders often neglect the needs of those who suffer. Let us pray with this parable so that our hearts might not be like that of the Scribes and Pharisees, but one that imitates Christ and his desire that all might receive, without obstacle, all that God bestows on them.

Find a quiet place without distractions, and open the Scriptures to Matthew 22:34-40.  Ask God for the grace to recognize those who are suffering and to imitate the Good Samaritan.

Read the passage slowly, pausing as the Holy Spirit might bring up a certain word or theme. Stay with that the Spirit brings up in the silence. Either in the first read-through of the passage, or when re-reading the Scripture, imagine being in the scene; maybe as the one robbed and injured, another bystander watching it all, the priest or Levite, or the Good Samaritan. What thoughts and feelings come up when seeing the person lying in the ditch? What about when seeing the priest and Levite walking by, doing nothing? Or how about the actions of the foreign Samaritan, thought to be unclean and not worthy of even speaking to an Israelite, let alone helping one.

Speak to God about what takes place in the parable, and listen to God’s specific call to work for justice.

Devasahayam Pillai, the first lay saint from India and the first recognized martyr of Indian origin, was a Hindu from a high caste who worked in a royal palace in South India. Upon befriending a Dutch captain who was initially taken in as a prisoner by the kingdom, Pillai learned about Christ and decided to dedicate his life to him. 

However, the other high caste Hindus and feudal lords became enraged that Pillai became a follower of Jesus. Pillai lost his place at the palace and lived in danger. Moreover Pillai, recognizing that the Gospel promotes the dignity for all peoples, began to speak out against the caste system and treatment of the untouchables. 

Pillai’s advocacy for the marginalized resulted in his martyrdom. He recognized that every good gift comes freely from God, and that all persons are due in full all that God wishes to give them. Pillai was so convinced of this truth that, in imitation of Christ, gave his life to defend the dignity of the lower caste Indians. 

Pillai took for his baptismal name Lazarus, which translated in the South Indian dialects is Devasahayam, meaning “God is my help.”

Through the intercession of this saint, let us ask God to give us the radical strength to stand up for justice for the marginalized regardless of the consequences that might come, recognizing that all that we want and need has already been given by God, and in the face of such fears, God is our help.