Year A
Galatians 1:6-12
Psalm 111:1b-2. 7-8.9
Luke 10:25-37
Jesus Heals the Wounds of our sins
The story of the Good Samaritan must remind us that we simply cannot save ourselves. The story was specifically to heal the wounds of the sin of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is a feeling or display of moral superiority derived from a sense that one's beliefs, actions, or affiliations are of greater virtue than those of the average person.
This was the problem of the Lawyer who although knew the law sought to test Jesus Christ, and when Jesus answered him, he still wanted to justify himself by asking a question which brought about the story of a good Samaritan to show that even the Samaritan that he the Lawyer as a Jew hates even more than the Romans who have colonized them is also his neighbor.
Jesus Christ is indeed a good surgeon, and when he heals, he heals completely. So, although he was healing the sinful wound of self-righteousness, he was also healing us of all wounds of sins. Self-righteousness can be equated to Pride, which comes before every fall.
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.
It is the cause of the fall of both some angels (cf Jude 1:6) and humans (cf. Genesis 3).
Looking at the story of the Good Samaritan closely, we also see Jesus Christ as the Good Samaritan who came to redeem us from the Wounds of Sins, by coming to die for us on the Cross.
The reason why the Jews hate the Samaritans is a long story comprising of both Political (cf. 1 Kings 16) and Religious (cf. 2 Kings 17 Nehemiah 13:28-29) problems. The Jewish historian Josephus gives an account on how Sanballat the governor of the province of Samaria, had a temple built on Mount Garizim in which his son-in-law Eliashib could function. Eliashib was a grandson of the high priest. Because he married a non-Jew, Nehemiah exiled him from Jerusalem and the temple built on Mount Garizim became where he will function as from the priestly line. You can relate this to the event of Jesus and the Samaritan woman and the discussion that led Jesus Christ to say that a time is coming and is already here when true believers will worship God in Spirit and in truth (cf. John 4:19-23).
There are a lot to say about the rivalry between the Jews and Samaritans. This is specifically why this story carries a lot of weight. The Samaritan was the one who overcame bigotry and prejudices of centuries and show mercy and compassion for the injured Jew after the Jew’s own countrymen pass him by.
This Jewish man in the Story was from the City of Peace (Jerusalem) going to place of fragrance (Jericho), and fell among thieves. Notice how peaceful his journey was meant to be. It is what we expect our lives on earth to be. But then sin has led us who were meant to Steward creation to rather corrupt creation. This man fell into the mess we humans have brought. He was at a state were he could neither feel the peace from the City of Peace nor smell the fragrance from the place of fragrance, half dead.
This reminds me of the saying of Jesus Christ about him been the good Shepherd that;
The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
This quote is also interesting, because it states clearly that the thief has his goals and he comes to do just that an nothing else. Satan has this against us to steal from us and lead us to death and destruction. That his only motive and nothing else.
Let us also remember that sins wounds us, it wounds our minds, our hearts, our souls and our spirits. It leave us in the state of death like this man who was left half dead.
As the man was in such a state, a priest and Levite came to pass by him. Although there are Laws regarding them not touching the dead and so on to stay clean, I think the stress here is about the function of a priest, which is to offer sacrifice. The reason is that a Levite is of a priestly family, they are those who are not part of the family of Aaron for whom alone the priesthood was reserved, but where also to assist the priests from the line of Aaron.
The fact is all Levites are priests and the priestly book Leviticus gives a clue to this. Even Aaron was a Levite (cf. Exodus 4:14). So in this story the distinction is made here in the sense that two priests passed by the man but the first one described as a priest is from Aaron's line while the last one is not from Aaron's lineage.
So the stress is on Sacrifice, but in Jesus Christ's case is not any kind of sacrifice other than Love. To the priests the man was dead, they are not concerned with the dead, they are concerned with those who are alive but needs expiation from their sins. But they have forgotten that sin is also a form of death, like in the case of the man, sin is been half dead.
Just as the Samaritans and the Jews had some disagreements or contentions, sin is the contention between us and God. But God like the Good Samaritan still wants to build the broken bridge, and bring us to himself.
A lot of us a suffering from such wounds, and no one is helping, we are in a helpless situation, we cannot even moan left alone shout for help. People see us is such conditions and presume we are not alive and hence there is nothing they can do to help us. We have recourse to drinking alcohol and certain drugs and behaviours as defense mechanism just to feel ok.
Addiction cannot make you ok, drugs cannot make you ok, certain defense mechanisms cannot make you okay, nothing can heal you, only Love. Because he is the one you are searching for. All those defense mechanism are as a result of lack of love, you do not feel that anyone cares or love you.
Well let me inform you that some does love you, and he is Love himself. He is the one who was moved with Compassion [Latin "Com" means "together" and "passion" means "suffering"] and came to suffer with us. He is the one who uses his body to bandage our wounds and pour his blood also on our wounds like how the Samaritan bandage the wounded man and poured oil and wine into his wounds to reduce the pain. And just like the Samaritan, he also lifts us up, making us part of his body and sends us to his Father's hourse (cf. John 14: 2-3).
To you my brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, I will entreat you to be sensitive to others problems and if possible enter their shoes and like God and the good Samaritan suffer with them for them to experience Love. I repeat suffer with them for them to experience God if indeed you are God's temple.
This is what Paul in the First Reading talks of as the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and in chapter 3 of Galatians he says;
Galatians 3:1
O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
Jesus Christ was crucified for us, in Jesus Christ, God had compassion on us and came to suffer with us. In his suffering with us we see God. I repeat, On the Cross we see God, Love.
By Sylvester Amakye-Quayson
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