Jonah 1:1 - 2:1, 11 / Luke 10:25-37
Many things are easier said than done.
One example is when it comes to thinking up of solutions to a problem.
We can speculate and imagine solutions without actually going down to see what the problem is.
The problem may concern a person or a group of people, or about a situation or about something.
But the problem is certainly not abstract or imaginary, and neither could be the solution.
A personal encounter with the problem is necessary in order to have a workable solution.
In the gospel, the lawyer asked about how to inherit eternal life.
Jesus asked him about what is written in the Law, and the lawyer responded correctly with the great commandment of loving God and neighbour.
When that lawyer asked Jesus who is his neighbour, Jesus told that famous parable of the Good Samaritan.
For that lawyer, the word “neighbour” is no longer imaginary but a reality.
In the 1st reading, Jonah wanted to run away from God because he knew who the Ninevites were, and he saw them as an enemy rather than as a neighbour.
The one solution to all problems is the need for love of God and of neighbour.
May that love be a reality in our lives.