The Good Samaritan embodies the mercy of God. This is the same mercy which is being professed by the Church during this Year of Mercy. To be merciful requires one to be attentive to God and to the needs of those who surround us.
The Church Fathers have held that the Good Samaritan is representative of Jesus Christ. Jesus who looks upon the victim and thus too looks upon all of us who have been infected by the sin of Adam. He does not stand idly by and watch us from a distance, but rather He accepts the cross in order that we may be saved. Through the cross Jesus does not compromise with sin, but instead He conquers over it through His outpouring of mercy. God is merciful with us!
Mercy cannot be confused with compromise. The Church in her mercy cannot compromise on her teachings. If she were to compromise she would cease to be merciful because she would cease to call souls to encounter Christ who heals that which has been left for broken. It was not enough for the Good Samaritan to pass by and to say words of kindness. Rather, the Good Samaritan stopped and assisted the man in his need and even left him within the inn in order that he would be restored to his proper health.
The Church Fathers see this inn to be representative of the Church. Christ did not return to His Father in order that we would be left alone. Rather, He left us with the gift of the Church which He has established upon this earth. The Church is a vessel of the Father’s mercy because it restores those who are in need of mercy back to their proper health.
Pope Francis has exclaimed that the Church is a field hospital after battle. This is precisely true because the Church is not for those who are without sin. Rather, the Church is a place for the sinful to flock in order that they may encounter the mercy of God. The Sacrament of Confession is not for the perfect, but for those who strive to be more like Christ. The Eucharist is not for the perfect, but for those who strive to be more like Christ. To be a Christian requires us to strive to be more like Christ.
During this Year of Mercy we should consider the many ways that we can come to accept this mercy of God into our life. During this year of mercy we should also consider the many ways in which we can practice the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. This allow us to join with the Good Samaritan in seeing the needs of the victim and assisting them back to their proper health.
It is easy for us to pass by those who are found to be in need, but we must challenge ourself to be merciful with them. We show the mercy of the Father whenever we stop and show our concern be it for the poor, the sick, the sorrowful, the imprisoned, the deceased who we assist through our prayers. It easy for us to proclaim the truth of the Church, but we must also be willing to walk with that individual in their journey of coming to encounter the mercy of the Father.
