DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Saint Luke 10:25-37
(11/13-11/26)
The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost
The Good Samaritan: Saint Luke 10:25-37, especially vs.
33: “But a certain Samaritan,
as he journeyed, came where he was.
And when he saw him, he had compassion.”
In the parable of the Good
Samaritan (vss. 30-35), Christ teaches much about the Faith and practice of the
Church. He describes a traveler
wounded by robbers and aided by a compassionate Samaritan who rescues a
half-dead man and cares for him at an inn.
The merciful man invested time, energy, and resources to restore the
injured man to life and health.
Saint John Chrysostom identifies the Samaritan as a type of Christ
rescuing mankind, and the inn as a type of the Church-as-Hospital.
Saint John reframes the account of the Good Samaritan,
enlarging the implications of the parable from a solitary act of kindness into
an illustration of the redemptive acts of God the Word within the catastrophic,
spiritual state into which you and I are fallen. Mankind went down “...from the
heavenly state to the state of the devil’s deception, and fell among
thieves, that is, the devil and the hostile powers.” We are mortally wounded by sin,
debility, mortality.
Yes, our sins leave us with “...no healing...”
in our flesh and “...no peace...” in our bones (Ps. 37:3). Sin disturbs and disrupts us: our
reasoning, emotional life, wills, and bodies are all
corrupted. We find ourselves gravely
ill. When we commit one sin, it is
nearly certain we will repeat it, for our thinking is
“...noisome...” (Ps. 37:5).
Filled with 'static,' our emotions are aroused by wrong desires, and our
wills are weak and infirm. Both
decrease: our ability to resist evil and our capacity to choose purity. Take notice: we are alienated from the
life of God!
The truly ‘Good Samaritan,’ Christ our Savior,
comes from Heaven to earth to rescue us wounded ones. He brings us to safety, pours in oil at
our Baptism, Chrismation, and Unction. He heals us through the mystical work of
His Life-giving Spirit Who applies all this healing of Christ, pouring the very
Life of God into our bodies, souls, and spirits. Thereby God heals our delusion, darkness
and eternal death. Saint John
Chrysostom further suggests that oil also is a way of speaking “...of the
comforting word...which brings concentration to the scattered mind.”
Next, the Good Samaritan pours in wine - Christ offering
His pure blood for our battered souls.
As Saint John says, “...by mixing the Holy Spirit with His blood,
He brought life to man.”
Continuing participation in the Holy Cup heals and restores us to true
health.
Then Christ our God sets us upon His own animal,
or as John expands the thought: “Taking flesh upon His own divine
shoulders, He lifted it toward the Father in Heaven.” Then the Lord “...brought him to
an inn, and took care of him” (Lk. 10:34). Our Lord brings us poor way-laid
travelers through this life, “...into the wonderful and spacious inn,
this universal Church.” You
and I do not ‘join’ the Church; it is God’s gift to us.
When considering the arrangement with the innkeeper for the
man’s continuing care, Saint John connects the innkeeper through the
Apostle “...Paul to the high priests and teachers and ministers of each
church.” And Saint John
understood the Blessed Apostle to be saying to the many ministers of the
Church: “Take care of the people of the Gentiles whom I have given to you
in the Church. Since men are sick,
wounded by sin, heal them, putting on them a stone
plaster, that is, the Prophetic sayings and the Gospel teachings, making them
whole through the admonitions and exhortations of the Old and New
Testaments.” Brethren, be patient:
the ridding of the poisons, infection, corruption, and wounds that left us
half-dead and helpless takes time.
O Christ, Thou only Lover of mankind, purify us who are
wounded on our journey through this world, and in Thy compassion, through the
care of Thy Holy Church, pour in the oil and wine of Thy Holy Spirit, that we
may receive eternal Life and healing for our souls.
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