Bishop Barron’s Gospel Reflection

Friends, our Gospel today is one of the best-known of Jesus’ parables, the story of the Good Samaritan. Every story, parable, illustration, and exhortation is, at the end of the day, a picture of the Lord.

In one of the great windows of Chartres Cathedral there is an intertwining of two stories, the account of the fall of mankind and the parable of the Good Samaritan. This reflects a connection that was made by the Church Fathers. The Good Samaritan is a symbol of Jesus, himself, in his role as Savior of the world.

Now our task is to be other Christs. “Which of these three was neighbor to the man who fell in with the robbers?” “The one who treated him with compassion.” Jesus says to him, “Go and do the same.”

We spend our lives now looking for those people stranded by the road, victimized by sin. We don’t walk by, indifferent to them, but rather we do what Jesus did. Even those who are our natural enemies, even those who frighten us. And we bring the Church’s power to bear, pouring in the oil and wine of compassion, communicating the power of Christ’s cross.