Today's Gospel in Art: Jesus told the lawyer the story of the Good Samaritan

The Good Samaritan, by The Master of the Good Samaritan © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Source: Christian Art

Gospel of 4th October 2021 - Luke 10:25-37

There was a lawyer who, to disconcert Jesus, stood up and said to him, 'Master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' He said to him, 'What is written in the Law? What do you read there?' He replied, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself.' 'You have answered right,' said Jesus 'do this and life is yours.'

But the man was anxious to justify himself and said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbour?' Jesus replied, 'A man was once on his way down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of brigands; they took all he had, beat him and then made off, leaving him half dead. Now a priest happened to be travelling down the same road, but when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. In the same way a Levite who came to the place saw him, and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan traveller who came upon him was moved with compassion when he saw him. He went up and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. He then lifted him on to his own mount, carried him to the inn and looked after him. Next day, he took out two denarii and handed them to the innkeeper. "Look after him," he said "and on my way back I will make good any extra expense you have." Which of these three, do you think, proved himself a neighbour to the man who fell into the brigands' hands?' 'The one who took pity on him' he replied. Jesus said to him, 'Go, and do the same yourself.'

Reflection on the Painting

Our Gospel reading of today is probably one of the most loved stories of the whole of Scripture, or at least a story we all feel a great connection with. Rather than reflecting on the parable of the Good Samaritan, I would like to look at why Jesus decided to tell this story in the first place. Our reading starts with an exchange between a lawyer and Jesus. When we read the word 'lawyer' we immediately think of our lawyers nowadays who defend their clients in court. But a lawyer in Jesus' time was simply an expert in the Law of Moses, recorded in the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, plus all the civil laws, religious laws, moral laws and Jewish ceremonial laws.

The lawyer asks 'What can I do to inherit eternal life?' The lawyer focusses on himself, what can 'I do'. Ok, fair enough. But it is really when the lawyer asks 'And who is my neighbour?' that he reveals his true colours. By asking Jesus who his neighbour is, he wants to qualify who can get his love. It implies that he only wants to help his neighbour, but maybe not everyone else. He wants to limit his love to people in his immediate surroundings. Or at least the lawyer was hoping that Jesus would narrow it down as to who he should love. Jesus saw this in the lawyer's heart, and therefore told the parable of the Good Samaritan in order to expand the man's heart. Jesus turns the question of 'Who is my neighbour?' on its head, saying that it is not about defining who your neighbour is in order to then calculate who you give your love to. No, it is about being a neighbour to everyone. All deserve our love.

Our painting from 1537 (dated in the stone at the bottom) by the Master of the Good Samaritan, has never been attributed to any particular painter, hence the artist's name carries the title of the painting. We see the man from Samaria wearing a turban, administering oil and wine to the wounds of the robbed man. The wounded man's impending death is suggested by his blueish-grey hands and feet. We see the priest depicted as monk and the Levite walking away from the scene on the right. In the background on the left we see the Good Samaritan on his horse carrying the beaten man. The green vegetation and leaves are particularly well painted. But the central focus of the painting is on the nude body of the beaten up man, whose sagging body has taken a complicated, uncomfortable, awkward pose, with a limp arm. It is a beautiful image about the universality of compassion and simply a beautiful painting to pray with.

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/949
Christian Art - www.christian.art/