What More Can He Do For You?
Wishing to justify himself, the lawyer asked “Who is my neighbor?” Do you know the answer to that question? Is the fallen man your neighbor or is it you? A good Samaritan passes by and cares for the fallen man, is this not our Lord? Then who is the fallen man? All the fathers of the church are unanimous in reflecting that this is a story of the soul of each man, woman and child. If this is so then it holds great importance for you and I to understand the meaning of the story through the mystical language of the Son of God.
First issue: the man went from Jerusalem to Jericho. Jerusalem is the place of peace and is perched on a height in order to symbolize heaven; in Jerusalem we find the order from which all life comes. In the preferential love of God we were all conceived; we were formed in Jerusalem, that place of peace. The Father’s love chose the man (Adam) to enjoy His creation and to have dominion over all the animals in creation. It was only of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that man was to avoid it like the plague. With the formation of woman, the serpent had the wisdom to know how to deceive her and introduce death. The man was sent from heaven to Jericho which means the moon. For in the moon we have the rise and fall of each month. With sin man falls from the order and peace of Jerusalem and enters our sinful world.
Second issue: the robbers maul him and leave him half dead. These robbers are nothing more than the fallen angels, who have intellects and talents to bring about the death of the soul. Hence the man (poor Adam) is dead spiritually while suffering physically. Our soul moves through the same death through the sins of our lives. We just don’t understand what a dead soul feels like nor do we have the power to regain that spiritual grace that God alone can supply. In the course of our lives the evil ones do their best to bring about the complete death (body and soul) of the individual. Beware of this deceiver and his minions.
Third issue: A priest passes by; then a levite as well leaves the man half dead. The priest represents the law which exposes sin but cannot heal the effects of sin and so passes on without helping. The levite represents the prophets who can warn us of the danger ahead of us but can do nothing to help us if we fall. The law and the prophets were aids but they have no power to heal a fallen soul. Who then can help the soul once it has been beaten and robbed? Only a good Samaritan (a divine guardian)can pick up the fallen man, the suffering soul and heal the sins which plague us. Our Lord will not pass us by but will have compassion upon us by pouring the oil into our wounds. This oil recalls our baptism in which our innocence is once again restored to our souls. The wine represents the blood that ransoms the soul and infuses the life of grace within the person.
Fourth issue: the good Samaritan brings the soul to the inn and offers the keeper two coins to cover the expenses of the fallen man. Our Lord brings each of us into the church where peace and order ought to reign in order to heal the soul and bring the soul back to spiritual health. The two coins represent the teaching of both testaments, the highest of laws which call us to love God with all that we are and to love our neighbor as ourselves. IF we do this we shall live and we live in expectation of the return of the good Samaritan.
Fifth issue: The parable is a divine parallel for the plan of salvation revealed by the good Lord. Meditating upon it we can recognize ourselves and all souls as the fallen man. We are all in need of the cleansing power of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. In accepting the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ we are cared for by the apostles (the inn keepers) who long to heal us of the desires of this temporary world. Their goal is to show us the way to heaven where the order of God reigns supreme. In this kingdom the will of God is our Peace and hence we have arrived at the new Jerusalem. What a divine plan it is and how few there are that believe it and live by it. May you be one of those who recognize your fallen nature and turn to the good Samaritan for life everlasting.
In the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Fr. Richard Voigt, S.D.B.
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