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1 Corinthians 14 says, “God is not the author of confusion, but of peace” (14:33). That is a comforting truth, but many find that not to be their experience when they encounter the scriptures. They are torn and confused, for it seems to them that it asks or says contrary things.  One reason for that is because we are not only bodies, but bodies and souls.

To the Christian, the body is not “an other”. It is not a prison, but a house for the soul, and for the Holy Ghost; who dwells within us, ready to guide us into all truth each time we humble ourselves and turn to God.

Yet as Christians, our bodies are also broken. Altered from what they should be by the sinful nature within each one of us. We all know this to be true, for we have all felt what St. Paul describes when he says:

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” (Galatians 5:17)

In this same way, our scripture have more than one part to them, though joined, it is by this reality that we ourselves are torn by them. Just as our bodies are the visible part of ourselves, so the literal or literary story of Gospel today is its visible truth.

A lawyer comes to Jesus and asks him, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” To answer him, Jesus recites the summary of the law, that we say each Sunday:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.” (Luke 10:27)

The lawyer then asks Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” (10:29)

“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.

And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.

And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, 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 on him,

And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.

And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.” (Luke 10:30-35)

See, visibly, here is the parable. A man was robbed and beaten, but when he lay half-dead, a priest and a Levite both pass by him without offering to help. To this lawyer, who was a Jew, these two men were his neighbors and not only his neighbors, but men especially set apart to work the holy offices in service of God. Like so many today who we would expect to help us in our need, these men pass by this half-dead Jewish man, leaving him where he lay, without either one even attempting to help him.

Then comes the Good Samaritan. The Samaritans were enemies of the Jews. When the people of Israel were split into two kingdoms after the death of King Solomon (i.e., the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judea), the idolatry and wickedness of Israel lead God to send the Assyrians to conquer the Kingdom of Israel and lead them into exile. As a result of the conquest, many foreigners went and settled into what had been the Kingdom of Israel. The idol worship of the foreigners mixed with those of Israel. These were the Samaritans. They accepted only the first 5 books of Moses, and said that Mount Gerizim, not the Temple in Jerusalem was the place where God should be worshipped. For these and other reasons, the Jews and Samaritans hated each other bitterly. Which is why the example of the Good Samaritan would have stung the lawyer so deeply.

For who he thought of as is neighbor, the priest and the Levite passed by the poor robbed and beaten Jew, but this Samaritan, his natural enemy did not. He stopped and put wine and oil on his wounds. He took the man to the inn. And after caring for him all night, charges the innkeeper to give the man whatever he needs, giving money and offering to pay anything over when he returns.

It is here that Jesus turns to the lawyer and asks, “Who was the neighbor?” Unable to even say “the Samaritan” his hatred is so deep, the lawyer replies, “He that shewed mercy on him”. Jesus says, “Go, and do thou likewise”. Exemplifying what we have heard from the prophet, “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice” (Hosea 6:6).

However, that is not all we learn from this story, for God created the visible and the invisible, our bodies and ours souls, and the invisible truth is no less important to our understanding. For guidance in these matters, we can look to the early church, for the church fathers in those days revealed the spiritual truth of this story to all.

They tell us that the man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho was Adam descending from the heavenly state after the fall. The thieves who robbed and beat him half-to-death are Satan and his fallen angels, who ravage us through the temptation to sin. Now ever far from his heavenly state, and ravaged by sin, the law of Moses, in the form of the priest and Levite, pass by him, as the law cannot save us from this desolate state.

It is then that the person whom we have shown the most hatred towards comes to us, that Good Samaritan, is none other than Jesus Christ, our only savior and redeemer. After all we’ve done against him, rejecting him at every turn, it is he who we would expect to pass us by, but he does not. He stoops down to help us. That wine he pours on our wounds is the blood of his passion. That oil is the holy oil that the priest anoints us with when we come into the church. He puts us on his beast, just as he took our burdens upon himself, and he takes us to the inn; which is the holy church of God. It is there that he tends our wounds, pays for all our needs, and promises that he will pay all our debts when he returns again, which is the second coming of our Lord.

Through him we are healed from our sins. Through him our debts are paid. For it is he that has brought each of us here today to be healed by his saving grace.

This the invisible truth of these scriptures, for you are both soul and body, and our Lord has come to save all. He will heal you from your sins. He has had mercy on you. Now he commands you to do the same to your neighbor. To love him as yourself, and God above all.

As St John said in his first epistle:

 “We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.” (1 John 4:19-21)