Breaking Away from Our Lines - Weekday Homily Video

We all draw lines. Sometimes with a pen. Sometimes with our eyes. Sometimes just in our heads, where we don’t say it out loud, but we know, who belongs and who doesn’t. Who’s one of “us,” and who’s one of “them.” Who’s good and who’s just off. Who deserves help, and who brought it on themselves. 

Let’s talk about one of the most universal lines we all draw, the kind that shows up not in theology books, but in traffic. If I’m driving slowly, I’m responsible. I’m aware. Maybe even holy. But if someone else is driving slowly? They are an idiot, holding everyone back. Probably texting. Or sightseeing on the highway. 

Double Standards

If I’m driving fast? I have a reason. I’ve got somewhere important to be, work, hospital, maybe church! But if someone else is driving fast? They are a reckless maniac. They are the reason insurance costs go up. They are going to get someone killed. 

See what I mean? I am the golden standard. Everyone else is measured against me. And funnily enough, they all come up short. There’s a line we all carry around in our heads, invisible but real. And we’re all careful about where we draw it. Maybe it’s the person who votes differently. Or smells strange. Or talk too loud. Or the one who always needs help but never seems to help back. We don’t hate them. We just step around them. 

We carry this logic everywhere. If I’m late, it’s because I had an emergency. If you’re late, you’re unreliable. When I cancel plans, it’s because I’m overwhelmed and need rest. When you cancel, you’re unreliable. When I get snappy, I’m just having a rough day. When you do, you’re toxic. When I talk too much, I’m passionate. When you do, you don’t know how to listen. If I need help, it’s understandable. If you do, it’s because you’ve failed somewhere. 

Erasing the Lines

We draw the line, and we always put ourselves right at the center of what’s normal, what’s reasonable, what’s right. And this is where Jesus comes in today wrecks our setup. The parable of the Good Samaritan isn’t just a sweet moral story about kindness. It’s Jesus tearing down the lines we draw, and doing it with surgical precision.  

The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notorious for bandits. The people listening to Jesus would’ve known it like we know which neighborhoods and streets to avoid at night. The people in the story, the priest and the Levite, they were not villains. They were just staying inside the lines. The lines ones that said: “Don’t touch what’s unclean.” “Don’t stop on a dangerous road.” “Don’t get involved.” 

But the Samaritan? He didn’t just help. He crossed the line. Socially, racially, religiously, and literally. He steps over fear, over prejudice, over inconvenience, into someone else’s pain. The Samaritan didn’t just bandage wounds. He interrupted his day, spent his money, came back to check in. He crossed lines and stayed there.  

Radically Loving Our Neighbor

There’s a story from 2017 that caught headlines in Houston, Texas, during Hurricane Harvey. The city was flooding, streets were underwater, and people were stranded. Volunteers showed up with boats, rafts, pulling strangers from rooftops. 

One man named Jim McIngvale, better known locally as “Mattress Mack” opened up his massive furniture stores to anyone who needed shelter. Mack had been burned before. In previous floods, people stole from him. During crisis, some had trashed his store. He could have drawn a line and said, “Not again. Not my problem. Let Federal agencies handle it.” But instead, he gave people the keys to his kingdom, brand new couches, beds, recliners. He fed thousands. He sheltered anyone who came, he said: “These are people in need. You don’t draw lines when people need help.” 

Doing What's Right at All Times

Because the easy thing is to do what the priest and Levite did, to protect your turf, to protect your comfort, to play it safe. But Mack didn’t stay inside the line. He stepped right across it, financially, socially, personally. He risked being burned again. He risked the mess. That’s what Jesus is asking of us. Not to redraw the boundaries a little wider, not to move the line an inch or two, but to live in such a way that the line doesn’t matter anymore. 

Because at the end of the day, the parable asks, not who is your neighbor, but “Will you cross your line, and stay there?” 

• Today’s Readings
  
  
• Father Boby's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
  
  
• To join the Rosary and Mass Livestream, visit the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday – Friday. Consider inviting others to join too! (*If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, simply select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)