Who is my neighbor?
To interpret the parable of the Good Samaritan, one of the elders (of the Church) used to say that the man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho was Adam. He said Jerusalem was paradise, Jericho was the world, and the brigands were enemy powers. The priest was the law, the Levite the prophets, and the Samaritan Christ.
Adam’s wounds were his disobedience, the animal that carried him was the body of the Lord, and the "pandochium" or inn, open to all who wished to enter, was the Church. The two denarii represented the Father and the Son, and the innkeeper was the head of the Church, who was entrusted with its administration. The promised return of the Samaritan was a figure of the second coming of the Savior.
The Samaritan was carrying oil … He cleansed the man’s wounds with oil to soothe the inflammation and with wine that made them smart, and then placed him on his own mount, that is, on his own body, since he had condescended to assume our humanity.
This Samaritan bore our sins and suffered on our behalf; he carried the half dead man to the inn which takes in everyone, denying no one its help; in other words, to the Church. To this inn Jesus invites all when he says: Come to me, all who labor and are overburdened, and I will give you new strength.
After bringing in the man half dead the Samaritan did not immediately depart, but remained and dressed his wounds by night as well as by day, showing his concern and doing everything he could for him…
This guardian of souls who showed mercy to the man who fell into the hands of brigands was a better neighbor to him than were either the law or the prophets, and he proved this more by deeds than by words.
Now the saying: Be imitators of me as I am of Christ makes it clear that we can imitate Christ by showing mercy to those who have fallen into the hands of brigands. We can go to them, bandage their wounds after pouring in oil and wine, place them on our own mount, and bear their burdens.
And so the Son of God exhorts us to do these things, in words addressed not only to the teacher of the law but to all of us: Go and do likewise. If we do, we shall gain eternal life in Christ Jesus, to whom belongs glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer: God's Revelation
When Abraham bargained with God to spare the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, he did not receive his wish but he certainly did receive God's revelation of himself as considerate and compassionate; 'He replied, "For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it." Abraham asks for mortal temporal lives to be spared but God reveals his immortal being and his Spirit of generosity. Even today, we can hear God saying I will not destroy the world for the sake of one Righteous person, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and whoever believes in him. (John 3:16)
Jesus teaches that our prayers must acknowledge God as a Father who loves and cares for our needs better than we humans do for those we care.
"What parent among you will give your child a snake if he asks for a fish, or hand her a scorpion if she asks for an egg? If you, with all your sins, know how to give your children good things, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him."
Humans give "good things" but the God gives "the Spirit". When we are given the power to ask, seek and knock ("Give us each day our daily bread"), we are also given the opportunity not only to receive temporal and transient needs such as bread, but the opportunity to open wide the doors of the Kingdom through the forgiveness of sins and the avoidance of temptations and evil. Jesus teaches us in his great prayer that God always answers our prayers through the Spirit he gives us to know and participate in his being.
Pray Unceasingly
Have a blessed summer.
