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“Who is my neighbour?” To answer this question, Jesus
gives a narrative: “A man comes down …” Without any
introduction, He speaks about a “man” who has fallen
into the hands of brigands, “who strip him, beat him up
and leave him half dead on the side of the street.”
The mention of three men who pass: a priest, a Levite, a
Samaritan, makes one reflect.
Only the Samaritan, a “foreigner”, intervenes, pours
oil on the victim’s wounds, takes him to an inn and,
giving some coins to the inn keeper, asks him to take
care of the wounded man.
From various aspects, the parable seems neither complete
nor definitive: it gives no suggestions as to how to
avoid persons being victims of injustice from others.
The Samaritan is not presented as a model for total and
absolute mercy. He is not shown entirely responsible for
the other whom he finds abandoned, half dead on the
road, as if everything depended on him. He continues his
journey, even though he modified it considerably.
The modesty of this narrative is not an exception with
Luke. On the contrary, it is a characteristic of the
whole of his gospel: “He went about doing good”.
This is what Luke shows clearly, through analogous
reflections, that in precise situations, Jesus did good
to one or other person whom he met.
Having said that, it looks as though the parable of the
Samaritan is an “open” narrative – everything is not
said there with regard to the ethics of mercy and human
relationships.
The parable of the Good Samaritan is a “strong”
narrative, precisely because it includes multiple
facets, the “corporeality” of the person. Besides, the
evangelist John says clearly: “The Word was made Flesh”
(Jn 1:14). In fact, if we want to know more about the
“Word”, about “God” and the “Spirit”, we must take into
consideration these two words: “made flesh”.
The parable teaches us that “the flesh” is the place,
the means, the way, the sacrament of “God’s revelation
to mankind”. On this basis, every Christian is called to
be the “body:” of God’s heart for “the other” who is in
need. |
