And who is my neighbor?

 

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  

Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  

 

"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  

 

"So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

 

- Luke 10:25–37 

 

Yesterday we read that the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

 

  And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Here, Jesus gives two commandments in the Law, in response to the question from this lawyer, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  Jesus invites the lawyer to respond as to how he would answer according to what is written in the law.  The lawyer quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18; to which Jesus replies that he has answered rightly.  (Elsewhere, Jesus quotes these two Scripture passages and ties them together Himself when He's quizzed as to which is the greatest commandment in the Law; see Matthew 22:36-40.)  But, the text tells us, the lawyer wanted to justify himself, and so asks another question, "And who is my neighbor?"

 

 Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."  My study Bible tells us that Jerusalem is the place of peace, symbolic of communion with God.  Jericho, by contrast, was known as a place of sin (see Luke 19:1).  To fall among thieves speaks to the natural consequence of journeying away from God toward a life of sin (see John 10:10).  

"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side."  My study Bible notes here that titles and positions are meaningless in the sight of God when good deeds do not accompany them.  It quotes from the commentary of St. Cyril of Alexandria:  "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds."  That it is a priest and a Levite who do not help the man is also an indication of the failure of the Old Testament Law to heal the consequences of sin.   

"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion."  The Samaritan is a despised foreigner, but He is an image of Christ (John 8:48), as He "came down from heaven" (Creed) in order to save even those in rebellion against Him.

"So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."   My study Bible explains that the bandages, oil, and wine are sacramental images for first, the garment of baptism, which delivers us from the wounds of sin; second, the oil of chrismation, which gives us new life in the Holy Spirit; and finally, the communion of the divine Blood, which leads to eternal life.  That the Samaritan used his own animal to bear the injured man is an indication of Christ bearing our sins in His own body; the inn reveals the Church in which the care of Christ is received.  He pays the price for that care (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23).  

The parable of the Good Samaritan is a parable only found in Luke's Gospel.  What we first might notice about it is the grace of Jesus in responding to the lawyer who quizzes Him.  Jesus first asks the lawyer what his own reading of the Law is.  Then when the lawyer answers rightly, Jesus tells him so; to follow these two "greatest commandments" is to find eternal life:  "Do this and you will live," Jesus says.  So there is, first of all, great grace at work in Christ's response, and even toward the Law and the rewards it one may truly follow these commandments.   Keep in mind He speaks to a lawyer (likely a scribe) and their allies, the Pharisees, like Jesus, did believe in resurrection.  Jesus uses what we might call a Socratic method in His dialogue; He asks the lawyer questions designed to lead to the correct answer.  But then the lawyer wants to take this another step further, and he asks a provocative question himself, "And who is my neighbor?" referring to the second commandment quoted, to love one's neighbor as oneself.  In response to this question, Jesus tells the parable.  Jesus' method is still one that is very gracious, for He also ends with a question to the lawyer, effectively making His point:  "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  The lawyer's only option is to state the obvious; the one who "was neighbor" to the man attacked by thieves was the Samaritan.  In the telling of this story, Jesus illuminates the limitations of the Law, for perhaps the priest and the Levite are strictly observing other rules here, regarding coming into contact with blood, or the body of one who might be dead.  It reminds us of Jesus' repeated complaints against the legalism of the Pharisees, that they paid more attention to the letter of the law rather than the spirit of the law.  In Matthew chapter 23, in His great critique of the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus will say, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone" (Matthew 23:23).  It is explicitly made clear that the only true "neighbor" in the story is the Samaritan, because he is the one who showed mercy.  So grace and gracious behavior become lauded all around, both in the behavior of Jesus and in the behavior of the Samaritan, who is a neighbor precisely because he showed mercy on the injured man.  Jesus further shows that in the faith He brings into the world, there are no limits on who a neighbor might be in terms of sect or group; indeed, to be a neighbor is to act as one, and here Jesus places all the definition of the term on the initiative and act of one who shows mercy.  Another aspect of this parable is illuminated in patristic commentary regarding the "going down to Jericho" of the injured man.  This is seen by some as parallel to Adam who sinned and so was cast down out of Paradise.  St. Ambrose writes of this that it was Adam's "change not of place but of conduct made the exile of his nature."  From eternal blessedness, Adam fell among the thieves, so to speak, the influences of the evil one who attacks and torments one stripped of spiritual grace.  So we may see this as our world, in which we need the spiritual care of Christ to tend to our own wounds and healing, and the protective garments of grace.  Christ's emphasis on being a neighbor in the same way He became neighbor to us in the Incarnation is the way to truly fulfill the life-saving command, and return to true life in Paradise.  Over and over throughout the Gospels, Jesus emphasizes that to receive mercy one must practice mercy.  In the Sermon on the Mount, He says, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7).  Psalm 18:25 addresses the Lord this way:  "With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless."  St. James writes, "For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment" (James 2:13).  Let us live the commandment as He teaches us, and so find our way to the life He offers.

 

 

 

 

And who is my neighbor?

 

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  

 

Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." 

 

- Luke 10:25–37 

 

Yesterday we read that the Seventy returned from their first apostolic mission with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

 

  And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  It's quite interesting that this passage comes directly after the return of the Seventy, and particularly directly after Jesus praised God the Father because wisdom has been revealed to "babes," while "prophets and kings" had desired to see and hear what they have seen and heard, and did not (see above, the final verse in yesterday's reading).  Here, immediately following that pronouncement by Jesus, a lawyer -- that is, one who is expert in the Mosaic Law -- stood up and tested Jesus.  Jesus replies with a question of the expert, and invites him to answer his own question.  Hearing the response, Jesus approves; he has answered correctly, coupling two commandments together.  The first is what is known as the Shema (after the first word in Deuteronomy 6:4), the great confession of faith of the Jews.  The actual command the lawyer quotes is Deuteronomy 6:5 (see Deuteronomy 6:4-5).  We can read the second command in Leviticus 19:18.  These commands, coupled together, are also given by Jesus in Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-34.  But here in Luke, there is a unique twist, as the lawyer asks another question:  "And who is my neighbor?"

 

 Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."  Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan, found exclusively in the Gospel of Luke.  Here the setting is the road from Jerusalem to Jericho.  My study Bible explains that Jerusalem is the place of peace, symbolic of communion with God.  Jericho, on the contrary, was renowned as a place of sin (see Luke 19:1).  To fall among thieves, my study Bible explains, speaks to the natural consequence of journeying away from God toward a life of sin (see John 10:10).  

"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side."  My study Bible comments that titles and positions are meaningless in God's sight when good deeds do not accompany them. It quotes St. Cyril of Alexandria:  "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds."  That the priest and the Levite do not help the man is also an indication of the failure of the Old Testament Law to heal the consequences of sin.

 

"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion."  My study Bible notes that this Samaritan is a despised foreigner for the Jews, but he is an image of Christ (John 8:48), for Christ "came down from heaven" (Creed) to save even those who were in rebellion against Him. 

 

"So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  My study Bible suggests that the bandages, oil, and wine are sacramental images.  The bandages suggest the garment of baptism, which delivers us from the wounds of sin.  The oil reminds us of the oil of chrismation, which gives us new life in the Holy Spirit.  The wine gives us an image of the communion of the divine Blood, which leads to eternal life.  His own animal, my study Bible adds, indicates Christ bearing our sins in His own body, and the inn reveals the Church in which Christ's care is received.  He pays the price for that care (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23).   

At the conclusion of today's reading, Jesus asks the lawyer, "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  The lawyer replies, "He who showed mercy on him."  So Jesus teaches, "Go and do likewise."  If we consider my study Bible's note that to bear the man upon his own animal reminds us of Christ, who bears our sins in His own body, with the inn as a stand-in for the Church, then what we must see in this teaching is one in which we are taught to be "like God" (or like Christ) by being a true neighbor, by showing mercy, by having compassion.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches, "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).  To be a true neighbor is to be "like God," like Christ.  In this sense, it is an image of perfection drawn from daily life, from the possibilities we as human beings can embody in life.  It's also significant that the inn symbolizes the Church, because it is the place where Christ's care is received.  The Church in its history has frequently been likened to a hospital, for it is where we are to receive care for our wounds and illnesses.  In this context, sin is also seen as a type of illness, a way of being "less than" the perfection Christ describes in the Sermon on the Mount, when we're asked to be "perfect, like your Father in heaven is perfect."  If we see ourselves as in need of care and healing, we might come to terms with our own shortcomings in a much better sense than one in which shame keeps us from coming forward to acknowledge what needs repair and change in us.  Repentance, in this perspective, becomes a kind of medicine, a surgery, a way to begin to address a problem and acknowledge it.  It is said that the only unforgivable sin is one not repented; therefore this medicine for our imperfections and ailments is powerful indeed!  But everything begins with the quality of mercy, and the compassion exemplified in the Good Samaritan.  This is what makes him a neighbor.  Jesus commands the lawyer, "Go and do likewise."  So, we must conclude, are we commanded to act as neighbors.  For this is God's way, the quality Christ asks of us over and over again, and which we will answer for (Matthew 24:31-46).

 

 

 

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion

 

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

 

- Luke 10:25-37 

 

Yesterday we read that the seventy returned from their first apostolic mission with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to his disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

 

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  The lawyer quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5, and Leviticus 19:18.  In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus gives these two commandments as the answer to a question from a scribe, "Which is the great commandment in the law?" 

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."   As Jesus begins the parable of the Good Samaritan, my study Bible explains the setting of this road from Jerusalem to Jericho.  Jerusalem, it says, is the place of peace, symbolic of communion with God.  Jericho, on the other hand, was renowned as a place of sin (see Luke 19:1).  To fall among thieves, it says, speaks to the natural consequences of journeying away from God towards a life of sin (see John 10:10).  

"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side."  My study Bible comments that titles and positions are meaningless in God's sight when good deeds do not accompany them.  St. Cyril of Alexandria is quoted, who writes, "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds."  Moreover, that the priest and the Levite do not help the man  indicates the failure of the Old Testament Law to heal the consequences of sin.   

 

"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion."  The Samaritan is a despised foreign, but he is nevertheless an image of Christ (John 8:48).  My study Bible says this is so, because He "came down from heaven" (Creed) to save even those in rebellion against Him.  

 

"And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' "  The bandages, oil, and wine are sacramental images.  My study Bible explains them as first, images of the garment of baptism, which delivers us from the wound of sin.  Second, the oil of chrismation, which gives us new life in the Holy Spirit.  And finally, the communion of the divine Blood, which leads to eternal life.  His own animal indicates Christ bearing our sins in His own body, and the inn resembles the Church in which Christ's care is received.  Christ pays the price for this care (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23). 

"So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  Jesus' advice, of course, is given to all of us.  

The story (or parable) of the Good Samaritan gives us an image not just of our own lives in this world, but, as my study Bible has pointed out, an image of Jesus Christ -- who offers us the baptismal garment, the sacred oil of chrismation, and the church.  Just one aspect of this understanding is the Church as a hospital, a place of healing, a place where our sins may be taken and cared for, their blight on ourselves healed and made well, the healing oil of grace poured upon us to help us to new growth and wholeness, and a place where we are cared for and can rest from the troubles of the world, a space for our deepest needs to be addressed.  But above all this, overarching the story, is the power of mercy, which Christ elucidates as an answer from the lawyer.  And here is where we have the strongest resemblance to Christ and the life He lived.   Jesus asks the lawyer, "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And the lawyer replies, "He who showed mercy on him." As my study Bible pointed out, it is Christ who first shows mercy to us, making His own absolute sacrifice on the Cross even for those in rebellion against Him.  Christ's taking on the burdens of the evil in the world through His Passion is an act whereby He transfigures affliction, as He is innocent, holy, and most important of all, His human choices are loyalty and love to God the Father.  It is, after all, love through which all of this works.  This is not a harsh command given for payment by a demanding God, but rather a way to undo the sins of the world in One who through His act will stand the sinful world on its head through an act of love.  For the powerful witness of the One who is ultimately holy, innocent, and sinless becomes indictment and judgment against the evil and injustice that afflicts the world.  In the Revelation, Christ is called the "faithful witness" (Revelation 1:5), and the "Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God" (Revelation 3:14), and of course this is followed by numerous references to the witnesses who will follow in faith.  We will not be able to see this act of love for what it is unless we understand that there is a spiritual court, a spiritual judgment that is at work and will ultimately manifest at the end of the age.  But the truth is that we who are taught to "Go and do likewise" also participate as witnesses in this spiritual court, in the same way that we are taught to follow Christ and take up our own crosses daily (Luke 9:23).  The very word "martyr" means "witness" in Greek, and so we have in the testimony of the ancient Church this understanding built into our faith.  In his Letter to the Romans, St. Paul quotes from Proverbs, writing, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head" (see Romans 12:19-20, Proverbs 25:21-22).  Couching it in a quote from Deuteronomy 32:35, "'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord," St. Paul makes clear that this is a teaching about the way of Christ, the power of God that comes through the practice of mercy, and enacted through Christ's Passion, the way of the Cross.  To "go and do likewise," to show mercy, in the eyes of the worldly, may seem a powerless meekness.  But it is akin to Christ's instructions to the Seventy, that they should give a blessing of peace to each house they enter, "and if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you" (Luke 10:6).  But to offer mercy in the name of Christ, as a follower, is to take confidence that this is not simply a good teaching for how to live in the world, but a part of witnessing, something that goes beyond the merely worldly, the things we see only with physical ears and eyes.  This is a teaching for the establishment of a Kingdom, for the age in which sin and righteousness and judgment are all being tested, witnessed to, and made clear (John 16:8-11).   We understand it as a way to follow Him in taking up our cross daily, for in His Passion on the Cross we know the truth that "we love because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).  Let us go and do likewise, remembering what manner of spirit we are of (Luke 9:55).

Go and do likewise

 

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.' "  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise." 

 

- Luke 10:25–37 

 

Yesterday we read that the seventy apostles returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

 

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.' "  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."   Elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment; and He answers with these two commandments named in this passage by the lawyer who tested Him (see Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-34).  These commandments are found in the Old Testament Scriptures at Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.  Here in Luke's Gospel, Jesus turns the question back to the lawyer.  Possibly it is a form of Socratic dialogue.  We notice first that Jesus compliments the lawyer that he has answered correctly.  

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" This answer is not enough for the lawyer, for he wants to justify himself.  The parable of the Good Samaritan is Jesus' response.  This parable is only found in Luke's Gospel.

Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."  My study bible comments here that Jerusalem is the place of peace (its name means "city of peace").  It is symbolic of communion with God.  But Jericho, on the other hand, was renowned as a place of sin (see Luke 19:1).  To fall among thieves, my study bible says, speaks to the natural consequence of journeying away from God toward a life of sin (John 10:10).  

"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side."  My study bible says that titles and positions are meaningless in God's sight when good deeds do not accompany them.  It quotes St. Cyril of Alexandria:  "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds."  That the priest and the Levite do not help the man also indicates the failure of the Old Testament Law to heal the consequences of sin.

"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion."  The Samaritan is a despised foreigner.   But he is an image of Christ (John 8:48), as he had compassion.  My study bible quotes from the Creed regarding the identity of the Samaritan with Christ:  He "came down from heaven" to save even those in rebellion against Him.

"So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' "  My study bible points out that the bandages, oil, and wine are sacramental images.  The bandages resemble the garment of baptism, which delivers us from the wounds of sin.  The oil of chrismation gives us new life in the Holy Spirit.  The communion of the divine Blood leads to eternal life.  That the Samaritan set the man on his own animal reminds us that Christ bore our sins in His own body.  The inn reveals the Church in which Christ's care is received.  Finally the Samaritan, like Christ, pays the price for that care (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23).  

"So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  Jesus once again turns the question back to the lawyer, who again answers correctly.  And Christ's own command for all of us is, "Go and do likewise."  To be a neighbor is to live the commandment, to do likewise, to show mercy.

It's interesting to take a close look at the commandments quoted by the lawyer, and approved of by Christ.  The first is straightforward:  "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind."  But the second has an additional nuance.  Here is the New King James Version of Leviticus 19:18:  "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord."  The injunction against vengeance is important; it is the expression of forgiveness of debt, spiritual and otherwise.  In the Lord's Prayer, we pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:12).  It is meant within this same framework, against revenge (especially spiritual debts, sin).  But Jesus takes these commands, and true to His own statement that He has come not to abolish the Law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17-18), He takes the Law -- in these commandments -- to its fullest expression, by teaching us to be neighbors.  This makes the Law not simply about the "children of your people" in the sense of blood or other earthly kinship, but "your people" in a spiritual sense.  It also takes the commandment and expands it to mean that to be a neighbor is to actively express compassion, mercy.  Let us keep in mind that we can also practice mercy and compassion for others through prayer, even when there is nothing else we can do for a person.  There is another aspect to this parable of the Good Samaritan that is important for us to understand, and it applies symbolically throughout the New Testament.  The ancient world used olive oil as the basis for all kinds of things, including healing ointments.  Here, when the Samaritan bandaged the hurt man's wounds with oil and wine, the word for oil in Greek is ἔλαιον/elaion.  But this word is pronounced alike to the one that means mercy, ἔλεος/eleios.  Where we read about oil (such as in the lamps of the young women in the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins, found at Matthew 25:1-13), we can infer this as symbolism for mercy and grace.  This is also reflected in the oil of chrismation in our sacraments.  Jesus invites us to understand what it means "to be" and how that is related to what we "do."  Just as "children of Abraham" are not simply those who are physical descendants, but rather those who are "like Abraham" in doing the works Abraham did (John 8:39), so what it means to be a neighbor is reflected in the practice of living "like a neighbor" and doing the works which reflect that.  As disciples of Christ, it is important to consider and to work out what these things mean for ourselves.  To live as a Christian person is to practice mercy, but this is far away from a type of morality that confers formulaic answers for everything, or universal prescriptions.  The Good Samaritan's compassion comes from his heart, and in our case, it is meant to be a product also of our love of Christ.  It is in Christ that we are made into children by adoption (or "sons" and therefore heirs) of God; in mercy we become neighbors.  No one is being asked to risk life or injury around an abusive person.  But we are asked to "let go" of debts, giving them to God, and to practice mercy where we see a need, and as we seek to live prayerful lives.  Our peace is in our covenant with God, seeking God's will and doing it ("Your kingdom come.  Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" - Luke 11:2).  Let us go and do likewise. 

Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

 

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  

 

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said, "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

 

- Luke 10:25-37 

 

Yesterday we read that the seventy apostles returned from their first mission with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions , and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."   

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."   Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said, "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."   My study bible explains the parable by telling us that Jerusalem is the place of peace, symbolic of communion with God.  But Jericho, on the other hand, was a place renowned as one of sin (see 19:1-10).  To fall among thieves, it says, speaks to to the natural consequence of journeying away from God and toward a life of sin (see John 10:10). 

"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side."  My study bible tells us that titles and positions are meaningless in the sight of God when the works of faith do not accompany them.  It quotes St. Cyril of Alexandria here:  "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds."  That both the priest and the Levite fail to help the man also indicates the failure of the Old Testament Law to heal the consequences of sin.  

"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion."  My study bible explains that the Samaritan, who is a despised foreigner, is an image of Christ (John 8:48).  For Christ "came down from heaven," as it says in the Creed, to save even those who are in rebellion against Him.  

"On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'"  My study bible tells us that the bandages, oil, and wine (all commonly used at the time for healing) are sacramental images.   They image, first of all, the garment of baptism, delivering us from the wounds of sin.  Second, the oil of chrismation which gives us new life in the Holy Spirit.  Moreover, in the wine is imaged the communion of the divine Blood, which leads to eternal life.  His own animal gives us an image of Christ bearing our sins in His own body, while the inn symbolizes the Church in which Christ's care is received.  Finally, Christ pays the price for that care (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23).  

"So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  Christ teaches us that being a neighbor is an active pursuit of living our faith in daily life.  Indeed, He gives us all the command to do so by saying, "Go and do likewise."

 

For many of us, it's hard not to reconcile the notion of the Good Samaritan with our modern notions against racism and other types of prejudice.  This is indeed important, as Christ would shatter many such restrictions in the way of thinking.  This is expressed possibly most clearly in St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 3:28, when he writes, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."  Within the Body of Christ, we are one.  But there is a deeper meaning to the parable of the Good Samaritan than a message about divisions between ethnic groups or other sorts of sources of group identity.  For that broader and deeper message, we need to turn to Jesus' parable about the Judgment, in which He separates the sheep and the goats, found in Matthew 25:31-46.  In that parable about the final judgment, Jesus separates the righteous from the others based upon their works of mercy produced by their faith.  The righteous ask Him, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?"  And Jesus says, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."  In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus is also teaching along these same lines, advocating what it is to be a neighbor, and dissolving lines of ethnic or other divisions that meddle with identity within and among those who would be righteous.  He is emphatically teaching that it is righteous behavior -- those who show care and mercy as products of faith -- that deems a person a true neighbor.  He issues a command for each of us to "go and do likewise."  Note that this puts the emphasis on initiative by us, we who follow Christ's teachings.  We do not wait for another to define "neighbor" for us.  Neither do we take our cues from anywhere else but from our own faith.  In effect, it takes this perspective to cement in the teaching of Christ that to truly be righteous, one must both "love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind," and "your neighbor as yourself."  In Christ's understanding and teaching, faith and works are not separated into two distinct categories.  Rather, one must be a product of the other, and they go hand in hand.  To be a true neighbor requires real faith and love of God, and it also asks for the hands to express the heart that loves God in the world.  Let us note that the Samaritan did not search for a cause to prosecute, a party to support, or any other way to follow a social grouping based on an abstract preposition.  This is life as lived and experienced; he came upon the hurt man and responded as faith in God would call him to respond.  It is, in a sense, allowing God to present him with a dilemma and making a choice to do what is necessary to do with what is right in front of him.  It interferes with his plans, his interests, and what he had in mind.  But this is how life works.  God calls on us out of the blue, through things placed right in front of us to respond to, to make choices over.  I imagine the Samaritan had to ask himself what was more important -- and the heart responds with a course of action based on the choice made out of the love for God.  If we each look into our own lives, we will find God placing such options and choices before our eyes and hands all the time, in which circumstances compel us to make choices as to where our true identity and loyalties really lie.  For the Samaritan, helping this hurt man was at once more important than the needs of business, spending his time and effort and even laying out money to help with his care.  For each of us, choices will come out of the blue and force us to think about priorities and choose where our real identity and loyalty must be, for this is the way God works in our lives.  So where are you called today, and what choices do you have to make?  We should remember that our own identities really depend upon the answers we make -- the place we decide our true loyalty resides.  

 

 

 

 

There is no other commandment greater than these

 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, which is the first commandment of all?"  Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is:  'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."  So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher.  You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.  And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."  Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  But after that no one dared question Him.

- Mark 12:28-34

 Yesterday we read that as Jesus was in the temple in Jerusalem, the leaders sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  So they brought it.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him.  Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves is wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."

Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, which is the first commandment of all?"  Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is:  'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."  So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher.  You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.  And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."  Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  But after that no one dared question Him.  In His response to one of the scribes, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which my study bible says is the greatest Jewish confession of faith, called the shema' (meaning "hear," which is the first word of the confession).  Jesus compounds this confession with another command, Leviticus 19:18, and combines what is already present in the Old Testament in order to build a new understanding:  the love of neighbor is an expression of the love of God.  Let us note, in keeping with observations in yesterday's commentary that there are those righteous among the leaders, that this scribe asks Jesus an honest question, as he has heard He and the Pharisees and Herodians reasoning together, and perceived that He had answered them well.   My study bible also comments that Jesus' mention of the second commandment is frequently misunderstood.  It does not teach us to love our neighbors with the same measure of love we have for ourselves; rather it teaches us to love neighbor as of the same nature of ourselves, being created in God's image and likeness as are we.  This is very similar to the teaching on marriage, if we think about it -- that "the two shall become one flesh."  Thus, we find our true self in loving others, and in particular rooted first in loving God.

If we look at the fullness of the second command Jesus gives (Leviticus 19:18), it begins with the teaching, "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people. . .."  This enforces the understanding of loving neighbor as oneself, in the sense in which my study bible comments, above, as we are to understand that the purpose of righteousness -- as taught by these commands -- is community.  In other words, God's teachings and intent of the law, as given through Moses, is to create community.  If we recognize that each is of the same nature, a creature of God, then we start with the understanding built in to our approach to life that we live in a world created and given to us by Creator, and each person is a fellow offspring of Creator.  Jesus puts these two commands together to give us a kind of universal enveloping understanding of how we stand in right relatedness both to Creator and to one another as creatures.  These commands do not preclude justice, but are meant to enhance justice within the fullness of an understanding of who we are and who God is; moreover, that understanding is couched in the true nature of relationship with both.  In the Greek, the word for neighbor is rooted in the word for close or near, it means the one who is nearby.  This can be understood in a very particular way from the story Jesus tells to illustrate the point in Luke's Gospel; that is, the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  In Jesus' parable, it is literally the one who happens upon an injured man and helps him who is the true neighbor, and happens to be a Samaritan, and not a Jew.  This, to my way of thinking, is a very personal way of understanding Jesus' teachings -- that so much depends upon our personal encounters with others.  This is not a grand statement of simply general ethics, principles, or abstract thinking.  It is anything but a teaching that allows us to make a political statement or slogan based on its teachings, and then treat our perceived enemies with no-holds-barred ruthlessness.  The command is all about the personal, and our personal encounters with others, even our intimate behavior, if you will.  We are called to actively love in a way that promotes peace and minimizes needless conflict and endless recrimination in a cycle of violence or hostility.  We are called to act with forbearance and prudence with others, a kind of public respect that doesn't violate certain boundaries.  It is the basis for what has rather quaintly come down to us today as "good manners,"  but in fact took root as a profound and revolutionary social teaching.   It is, in particular to my mind, a personal commitment Jesus speaks to here -- to remember God's presence within and among each of our other encounters with those who are "nearby."  And this is indeed a way to remember God, an invitation to a prayerful way of living our lives.  We remember that the commitment is first to love of God, our Creator, and that from this loving relationship to a loving Creator flows our proper relationship to neighbor, to those who are "close," whom we may encounter and with whom we interact in our lives.  That means every one.  These are the true roots of community, a personal commitment regarding our conduct to all whom we meet wherever we find ourselves.  It calls upon us to learn discipleship, even as the apostles were taught to be wise as serpents and guileless as doves.  On the page of my blog titled Prayers, I have included an Orthodox Prayer for the Beginning of the Day.  Part of it reads, "Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Your will governs all.  In all my deeds and words, guide my thoughts and feelings.  In unforeseen events, let me not forget that all are sent by You.  Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others."  The words of this prayer do indeed embody the teachings of Christ in today's reading, the two commandments He puts together as one in response to the scribe.  Let us endeavor to do -- to act, think, work, and live -- as He teaches.  May God's grace be with us to do so, as the prayer also includes:  "Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day with all that it shall bring.  Direct my will, teach me to pray.  And, Yourself, pray in me.  Amen."

Go and do likewise

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

- Luke 10:25-37

Yesterday' we read that the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  Importantly, these are the two commandments named as the "greatest commandments" by Christ when asked (Matthew 22:35-40, Mark 12:28-34).

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."  My study bible says that Jerusalem is the place of peace, symbolic of communion with God.  On the other hand, it notes, Jericho was renowned as a place of sin (see 19:1).  To fall among thieves, it adds, speaks to the natural consequence of journeying away from God toward a life of sin (see John 10:10).  So often our indulgence in what we know to be wrong leads us to cheat ourselves.

"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side."  Some have commented that these prominent religious figures in the story are following prohibitions on the touching of bodies or blood.  My study bible comments that titles and positions are meaningless in God's sight when good deeds do not accompany them.  It quotes Cyril of Alexandria:  "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds."  That the priest and the Levite do not help the man also indicates the failure of the Old Testament Law to heal the consequences of sin.

"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion."   The Samaritan is a despised foreigner, an outsider, a stranger.  As one with compassion, he is also an image of Christ.  My study bible cites John 8:48, commenting that this figure is like Christ who "came down from heaven" (Creed) to save even those in rebellion against Him. 

"So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'"  There are sacramental images contained here, which my study bible gives in the following explanations.  In the bandages, there is an image of the baptism garment, which gives us remission from the wounds of sin.  The oil of chrismation gives us new life in the Holy Spirit.  Wine symbolizes Christ's divine Blood which leads to eternal life.  That the Samaritan put the wounded man on his own animal suggests Christ bearing our sins in His own body.  The inn is like the Church, often likened to a hospital, in which Christ's care is received.  Christ pays the price of that care (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23). 

"So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  Here is an absolute crux of Christ's teachings to us:  that it is we who must take the initiative to follow His commands, to go and do likewise. 

The parable of the Good Samaritan appears only in Luke's Gospel.  It is the beautiful illustration of the commandments cited here by the lawyer, upon which Christ has said "hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:40).  But here in the illustration of the parable, Jesus takes the Law and the Prophets further, to mercy.  In the ancient world, the base of all healing balms (and the costly perfumes we read about in the Gospels) was olive oil.  This is no doubt the base for the oil used as healing unguent by the Samaritan in the story.  In Greek, this word is ἔλαιον/elaion.  The word for mercy is ἔλεος/eleos.  In Greek, with the exception of the final letter (which indicates gender or neutral object), these words for "olive oil" and "mercy" sound exactly alike.  In the oil of chrismation, symbolizing the pouring out of the Holy Spirit, we have the perfect symbol for mercy or grace -- and so we have the unmistakable parallel given to us in this parable in Luke.  So what does it mean that Christ calls us to "go and do likewise"?  He is teaching us to take the initiative to follow His commands, to be a neighbor.  It's quite similar to His instructions in the Sermon on the Mount (and in Luke, in the Sermon on the Plain; see this reading).  When Jesus preaches that we should "love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you," what is this but a call to initiative?  He gives us dramatic statements to indicate that we must not simply follow the crowd, but rather follow the commandment for loyalty to God first, and the expression of that love extended to others.  In the story of the Good Samaritan, the very notion of "neighbor" becomes something Jesus says is something we are capable of initiating ourselves through our loyalty and love of God.  Like so many of His complaints against the religious leadership, the story also speaks against religious prohibitions that exclude the practice of mercy, such as when He asked certain scribes and Pharisees, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy?"   Let us note here that, similarly to that incident, Jesus speaks to a lawyer who knows full well the Law, and obviously takes its practice seriously.  If we are going to follow Christ regarding His urging us to the practice of mercy, how will we take an initiative where circumstances or surroundings do not lend themselves to such practice as common?  Where do we begin, and how do we begin?  What is grace, but an extension of a kind of hospitality?  Let us note more meanings hidden in the text here, as even our English word "hospital" is evolved from the Latin word for inn -- hospitale.   Christ seems to be asking us to allow our love for God to draw us out of the crowds, from being mere followers, and to create a kind of leadership among His followers which is based on the initiative of the practice of mercy.  He asks us to allow our love of God to take us beyond what we already know.  How can you extend this in your life?  To what conclusions does it lead you today?  In a world which seems only to ratchet up its desire for hostility, how does an act of mercy stand out among the others?

The Good Samaritan: Go and do likewise

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy to him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

- Luke 10:25-37

Yesterday we read that the seventy apostles Jesus had sent out returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  The lawyer (an expert in the Mosaic Law) quotes from two statutes:  Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. 

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."  The lawyer tests Jesus with an essential question, And who is my neighbor?  Jesus clearly deems the question important to answer, as He gives this parable in response.  Jerusalem is the place of peace, says my study bible.  It is symbolic of communion with God.  But Jericho is a city in complete contrast; it was renowned as a place of sin (see 19:1).  To fall among thieves is seen as an image of the natural consequence of journeying away from God toward a life of sin (see John 10:10).

"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side."  My study bible quotes Cyril of Alexandria's commentary on this passage:  "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds."  Titles and positions are meaningless in God's sight, it notes, when good deeds do not accompany them.   The priest and the Levite also represent the Old Testament Law, and its failure to heal the consequences of sin.

"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion."  While the Samaritan may be a despised foreigner in the eyes of the Jews (and therefore those listening to Jesus tell the parable), he's also an image of Christ (John 8:48).  Christ "came down from heaven" (Creed, also John 6:38) to save even those in rebellion against Him.

"So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'"  My study bible tells us that the bandages, oil and wine are sacramental images for several things.  First. there is the garment of baptism, which delivers us from the wounds of sin.  Second,  there is symbolism here for the oil of chrismation, which gives us new life in the Holy Spirit.  Third, the communion of the divine Blood, symbolized by wine in the parable, leads to eternal life.   That the Samaritan sets the man on his own animal indicates Christ bearing our sins in His own body.  The inn where the man who receives care reveals the Church in which Christ's care is received.  He pays the price for that care (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23).  In the Sermon on the Mount, Christ refers several times to good deeds done in secret, which the Father will repay openly.  See in particular Matthew 6:3-4.

"So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy to him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  Go and do likewise is a commandment for all of us. 

"Go and do likewise."  Let us consider this command from Jesus.  We are to be like he who showed mercy to him:  the Samaritan to the man who had fallen among thieves.  One thing we may note:  the word for mercy in Greek is eleos.  This is alike to the word for olive oil; that is, like the oil with which the Samaritan bound the wounds of victim of thieves.  Olive oil, in ancient times, formed the basis for all healing balms and even fine perfumes.  So, to truly understand the role of mercy in the Gospels, we must also understand the ties to this word and their associations with the oil of chrismation, and the balm of mercy.  We also note that Jesus' command to go and do likewise speaks to us of personal incentive.  That is, we take the initiative to become neighbors.  One does not have to seek out such circumstances or dream of glorious things we might do and plan.  The good Samaritan comes upon a circumstance in his life which asks him to make a choice.  He sees the choices that others make, the priest and the Levite.  But he takes compassion on the one who is left with his wounds at the hands of the robbers.  In the Orthodox Church, St. Nicholas is honored each Thursday, along with the Apostles.  If we look at the life of St. Nicholas, we may understand a connection with the parable of the Good Samaritan. St. Nicholas is known to us in large part for his charitable works, which were extensions of his great piety and faith in the Lord.   He took pity on those he knew who not only were in need, but who were in danger of being left aside, without community, alone to fend for themselves.  One prominent story in the life of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, tells us of three daughters of a formerly well-to-do man, fallen on hard times.  In that time, a woman without a dowry was unlikely to marry.  They risked a life of slavery or prostitution.  St. Nicholas had inherited wealth from his parents.  One night, the story goes, a bag of gold was tossed through a window of the home of the three young ladies.  Soon the eldest was married.  Later on, the same thing happened again.  The father of the young women was determined to find out their secret benefactor, and began to keep watch during the night.  A third time a bag of gold landed inside the home, and the father surprised St. Nicholas as he fled, identifying his donor.  The father was told by St. Nicholas, "You must thank God alone for providing these gifts in answer to your prayers for deliverance."   That the Church honors St. Nicholas weekly, and in conjunction with the Apostles, tells us that such works of compassion and charity do the greatest service for our Lord, it spreads the kingdom of God into the world as the apostles did.  It is an eloquent way to express one's love for God in the world.  Like the Good Samaritan, and like St. Nicholas, these works don't need to be things we plan on to impress the world or to find some glory for ourselves.  Rather, as we live our lives, we will come upon circumstances that ask us a question -- what can we do to help?  The gift is made all the greater for its lack of worldly glory.  We may find ourselves in a circumstance where we take compassion on those whom others may hate, for one reason and another.  But our blessing is from God and our service is to God, especially when we include those whom all others forget or exclude.  May God bless you with Jesus' command to go and do likewise.  Even in the smallest of ways, whether it is a smile we give or a courtesy or even just a kind word, the compassion our Father sees in secret will be repaid openly, in one way or another.  This, then, becomes a true act of prayer, the true glory of beauty in the sight of Christ.