In today’s Gospel, Jesus encountered a very hardened sinner, who saw himself as being very righteous.  The hardened sinner he encountered, we learn, was “a lawyer”.  Now this lawyer, wasn’t very wise… at all! - because he was now face to face with his Eternal Judge, but, out of pride, refused to acknowledge the truth!  For if the lawyer truly had knowledge of the Scriptures, then he most certainly, would know the famous passage:

“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test”! [Deuteronomy 6:16]

Why, one might ask? 

It is written, at the very Beginning, of the Book of Wisdom,

“because he is found by those who do not put him to the test, and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him.”  [Wisdom 1:2]

Now did the lawyer put Jesus to the test?  Did the lawyer distrust Him?

The Gospel begins with the words, “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test”!!! [Luke 10:25]  And therefore! – Jesus could NOT manifest himself to the lawyer.

I will continue, reading from the book of Wisdom:

“For perverse thoughts separate men from God, and when his power is tested, it convicts the foolish; because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul, nor dwell in a body enslaved to sin.”  [(Wisdom 1:3-4]

So Jesus exposes the folly - the folly! of the wicked man, by turning the question back on him.  Jesus turns the wicked man back to the Commandments of love - to love both God and neighbor, and self.

Jesus did this, because the wicked man, although he pretended to know “the Bible”, (- at least the Old Testament at the time), did not DO, what was Commanded of him in the bible. 

Now, the wicked man, realizing that he had been caught in his own snare, pretends, not to even know his neighbor.  He says “and who is my neighbor”?  For truly he did not know his Lord and God standing before him, and he pretended not to know even himself – that is, his own sinfulness, even though The voice of The Most High True God had reminded him to repent, in his interior life, many, many times.  So he figured, there was no harm in also denying his neighbor. 

So, Jesus, tells the lawyer, a story, about the lawyer.  The lawyer, was from Jerusalem, but was stripped of all the good that he had, by his own personal demons.  His very soul, was on the brink, of death!  He would rub shoulders with priests and Levites every day, but not one of them, loved him enough, to fraternally correct him, and admonish him to repent of his sinful ways, and to repent of his excessive pride.  One day, the lawyer encountered His Savior, Jesus Christ the Lord, who would GLADLY bind up his wounds, forgive his sins, deliver him from all of his personal demons, and let the Holy Angels minister him back to full spiritual health – if ONLY, he would humble himself, before his Creator, and beg, for forgiveness. 

The wicked soul, instead, put his Maker to the Test.  The wicked soul would Not Show Mercy, ON HIMSELF! – by REPENTING.  But Continually, rejected the efforts of His Creator, to reach out to him, and to Save him, even to meet him face to face one day.

So the lesson - the lesson his Loving Lord and Savior left him, was.

You - you be your best friend, You be your Neighbor, You show Mercy, on YOURSELF, GO, and DO, what you Know , in the very Depths of Your SOUL, that you must DO:  Repent, of your sinful ways, you wicked soul, for you have Very little time left!

Which takes us back to the first reading (bet you cannot wait for this!) “if you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in (the) book of the law– if you TURN (– from your wickedness!  And Repent!) to the Lord, your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” [Deuteronomy 30:10] - then you will be having Mercy on yourself, your neighbor, and your God!