An Analysis of the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Elder Philotheos Zervakos)

Eighth Sunday of Luke

An Analysis of the Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

By Archimandrite Philotheos Zervakos

All people, because of the transgression and disobedience of our forefathers, have inherited the curse and eternal condemnation, and have fallen from the heavenly Jerusalem to this temporal country, which is full of sorrows and distresses, of pains and calamities, which are brought upon us by the robbers, the invisible demons, who hurt us every day. Wounds are the sins inflicted on us by pride, envy, jealousy, malice, criticism, backbiting, slander, infidelities, fornications, adulteries, thefts, injustices and in general every sin committed by man, with the help of the wicked demon, because he is the one who injures us, who hurts us.

God gave us prudence, wisdom and discernment, but because we do not pay attention and care, we receive the wounds and injuries from the demons and as sinners we fall down half dead. And if we die from the wounds and injuries inflicted upon us by wicked, marauding demons, then we die eternal death, we are condemned to eternal hell.

While human nature lay half dead from the wounds and injuries which the robbers — the invisible demons — inflicted upon the human race, "by chance," He says, a certain priest happened to pass by and saw this wounded man, and continued on his way. He had no mercy on him, he had no strength to offer him help. Likewise did the Levite. He also passed by, saw him injured and was unable to offer him any help. The priest and the Levite represent the Prophets, the messengers of God to teach people to avoid sin, not to listen to the evil demons who motivate and urge them to sin. But neither a Prophet nor a righteous man nor anyone else sent by God to help man could help the man, who fell into the hands of robbers and was injured...

The Samaritan is Christ, the one born of the Holy and Ever-Virgin Theotokos Mary, the only begotten Son and Word of God, who came into the world to save the world from sin. To save us from eternal condemnation, from the bonds of hades and decay and to bring us back, again, to the first homeland, the ancient blessedness, in the Jerusalem above, in Paradise. And the people, instead of loving Him, instead of obeying His teaching, envied Him, harmed Him, denied Him and crucified Him.

Human nature, people, has reached such wickedness that they revile Him, who came to heal our wounds, our diseases, to pay the debt of our own sins. He suffered who had not been responsible, who was sinless, for us who were responsible, guilty, sinners. He is the One who took pity on man, took pity on all people, those injured by the wounds that the demons inflict on each of us, and raised us up. The Lord said it, through the mouth of the Prophet: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases." He was punished out of love for man, for all men. He paid for the sins for which we are responsible and guilty. We were to be punished, and we were not punished, but He, the sinless One, was punished. Why? To heal our wounds, to heal our psychic illnesses.

So He lifted us up to Himself. He bore our sins and delivered us to the inn. The Church is an inn. The two dinars are the Old and New Testaments. For those who are sick and seek refuge and resort to the Church, they are healed. The innkeeper is the priest, the high priest, the teacher, who with his teaching, as with medicines, infuses the sick and wounded with healing. This is the oil and the wine. The oil and the wine are the teaching, that teaching that exhorts to virtue, for the accomplishment of the virtues and the commandments of God and the other virtues, that teaching that threatens us that if we do not keep the law of God, the commandments and we become transgressors, we will be punished, as the Apostle Paul says: "Every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" (Heb. 2:2-3).

In the Old and New Testaments, which the priest and the sacred preacher of the Church offer us, there are the medicines. These are the medicines by means of which the wounds of souls and bodies, though more of souls, are healed. And the healer of the injured man's wounds said to the innkeeper: "Take care of him and when I return, whatever you have labored, whatever you have spent for this patient, I will give them to you." This means that the priest and the teacher and the high priest and every man of the Church must heal through their words, admonitions, love, faith towards God, to heal and teach people who are injured and wounded. And when they take care of them and heal them, when the Lord comes at the Second Coming, He will reward them for their trouble...

Well, we humans too must be healed, and we will be healed, if we show mercy, firstly to our souls and secondly to those who are in need, they who are psychically ill.

From this parable we must imitate the Good Samaritan and first have mercy on ourselves, our souls, which are injured and afflicted by the fiery arrows of the wicked one, each of which he shoots at us and injures us. Let us take pity on our soul and use the medicines that the All-Good God has given us to keep our soul unharmed and healthy.

The soul, my beloved, has great value, as much value as the whole world does not have. Our soul is worth more than the whole world. But we do not pay attention to this soul of ours. Our body, which is corruptible, is mortal, and tomorrow, when it is separated from the soul, it will become food for worms and a stench, this we take care of, we take care to cure it, and when sometimes it is sick, we run to the doctor and beg him to heal us. But our soul, which we do not love, when it is sick, we do not take care to cure it. However, just as we take care of the body, so, even more, we take care of our immortal soul, for which there is no equivalent, as the Lord says: "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36).

Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.