The Good Samaritan In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, this one would stand for the Lord  Jesus who came to heal our moral wounds and bring us hope  of future happiness

 
In the question 897 of "The Spirits' Book," Kardec asks the superior spirits if one who does good on Earth expecting a reward in heaven may have his advancement hampered, and the Spirits of light will answer that it is necessary to do good from charity, that is, disinterestedly. The codifier of the Spiritist Doctrine insists, arguing that it is a natural human desire to advance in order to escape so painful a state as our present life and that the Spirits teach us to practice rectitude to attain this purpose. He concludes his questioning by asking if it is wrong to think that through doing good,we should expect better condition on the planet.

The spiritual benefactors answer that it is not; that there is no harm in thinking that way when he does good without even thinking of its outcome, merely for the sake of d pleasing God and relieving his suffering neighbour. And they conclude by saying that he who does so has already reached a higher degree of moral advancement which will allow him to achieve the happiness sooner, because he does it driven by the natural warmth of his heart.

Therein lies the essence of the parable of the Good Samaritan, told by Jesus to a doctor of the law when the latter asked him what he should do to inherit eternal life.

Mindful of the question he had been asked, Jesus replied his questioner with another question: "What is written in the law?" And the man said, "You shall 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." "Thou hast answered right," replied Jesus. "Do this and thou shalt live."

He, however, willing to justify himself, asked the Master: "Who is my neighbour?"

And Jesus answering told the story of the Good Samaritan. The Master said that a man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho - the region's commercial centre - when he fell among thieves, who left him half dead.

Who was neighbour to the poor man who fell among thieves?

Soon after, a priest who was going the same way, ignored him; then a Levite, likewise, refused to take notice of him. Nevertheless, a third man, a Samaritan who journeyed had compassion on his state and helped him by bounding up his wounds and pouring oil and wine on them. It took him then to an inn and asked the owner to take care of him. Upon leaving, he left some money for initial expenses, ensuring also that he would repay the innkeeper any other expenses on his way back.

When finishing the story, Jesus asked the doctor of the law which of the three men seemed to have been neighbour to the man who fell among thieves. And he said that it had been the one who showed mercy onto the wounded. By hearing him and closing the subject, Jesus said to him: "Go and do thou likewise," making it clear that only through charity one will attain eternal life, utter happiness.

If we examine the doctrine of Jesus closely, we see that in all its principles there is the exaltation of humility and humiliation of pride. Those repudiated by the dominant sects, victims of the fury of the priests, doctors of the law, are the favourites of Jesus and considered more worthy of the kingdom of heaven than the called powerful of their time.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is a prime example of this attitude of the Master when he uses two class representatives of high society, who had no mercy in their hearts and a Samaritan, considered negligible and condemned by them for not strictly following the laws and customs, as a prominent figure of his parable.

The curious thing about this narrative is that it was proposed to a doctor of the law, who was there to ask him about eternal life, in order to catch him in error against the law.

Living does not restrict itself to the movement of the body or the display of titles

What Jesus implies in his answer is that you need not be a doctor of the law, or a priest, or attend services or meet the rituals of this or that belief to have eternal life. To do so, one just has to have his heart touched by love, because he who has love is the one who helps his neighbour in all that he possibly can; be it with money or morally, teaching those who do not know, bringing friendly words of comfort and hope to the sufferer or clarifying embodied and disembodied spirits about eternal life, through the teachings of Jesus as modern Samaritans, accepting the invitation from the Master to love the neighbour as one's self...

The great merit of the Parable of the Good Samaritan, reminds Paulo Alves Godoy¹, reinforcing what is essential in the narrative, is to prove to us that the individual who calls himself religious, or who is an exponent of the official religious system, no matter which, not always is the true practitioner of the virtues that are usually taught in profusion, but so little exemplified.

Jesus' concern was to show that living does not restrict itself to the movement of the body or the display of titles, professional or social position. It stretches out to higher spheres, the other fields of superior achievement with spiritual benefactors, seeking to be better each day so that we can be better assisted by the Superior Spirits.

This very scene described by Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan is repeated every day in different sectors of life as Emmanuel, estimated Spiritual Instructor, explains. He says that "a large number of learners, fully integrated into the knowledge of the obligations to which they are due, continue to request the Divine Messengers for guidance on how best to act on earth ...The answer, however, is within themselves, in their hearts, but they fear the responsibility, the decision and the hard work." ²

The charity must be disinterested to be of value before our Father

Therefore, according to Jesus, the neighbour becomes the person who surrounds our steps. And responding to the invitation of the Master, let us prepare ourselves to help, infinitely, a difficult relative, an arbitrary supervisor, a subordinate who does not dutiful or is in distress, or a physically ill person demanding more attention from us, within reasonable limits, without undue discouragement or complaints, they will be without a doubt, the greatest opportunity that the Father gives us to the benefit of our own advancement.

Seeking to understand a little more this parable, we can highlight some elements that will eventually become targets of our reflection. One of them concerns the fact that the assaulted man was not identified. Jesus does not speak of his social position, his origin, his profession or his belief. And yet, the Samaritan helped him.

Maybe it was his enemy, one of those who despised him, and yet he would have done the same attitude. Has not Jesus taught that it is only fromthose with good heart that one can withdraw good things? Has not the Master said that charity must be disinterested to be of value before the Heavenly Father?

Another aspect to note is as follows: Jesus spoke, several times, using allegories and symbols to explain the spiritual reality to a people who only cared about the material reality. So we can also understand the injured man as the earthly mankind, without spiritual values ​​or without freedom,chained to materiality, concerned with everything that relates to the achievements of material goods - transient, ephemeral - and far from worrying about the true assets, which are the ones of the Spirit.

The priest and the Levite represent, of course, the religious people more concerned with the interests of their group rather than with the collective, who seek in the principles, dogmas or religious concepts the answers to their troubles.

We must choose if we are closely with Jesus, acting with him, or from a distance

And the Samaritan represents Jesus himself, who came to heal our moral wounds and bring us hope of future happiness.

There is also another element that is worth being highlighted: the innkeeper had no reason to trust that man who assured he would pay the extra expenses of the wounded, if any. And yet, he trusted.

We can reflect on this passage by reminding us how often we hear or read that good always begets good. The Samaritan helped the neighbour with disinterestedly and entrusted him to the innkeeper, even giving him some cash to cover basic living expenses. Who could assure him that the other would actually take care of the wounded? And if the innkeeper fulfilled the deal, who could guarantee that the Samaritan would reimburse him in case he had to spend more? Let us think about it?

Thus, apprentices like us of the Redeeming Gospel must choose if we are closely with Jesus, acting intensely with him, or with Jesus but from a distance slowing the advance of light, because "in the Gospel, the neutral position means less effort ".³

We have all made mistakes. Many of us have found ourselves forced to pick ourselves up many times after falling. And that is why we can already understand the meaning of indulgence, serving brothers badly treated and abused by harsh trials. They are everywhere, asking for help, often silently.

Nonetheless, despite being still tiny before the Majesty of Christ, we can be convinced that we can live happily, at the invitation of the heavenly friend, helping him and helping tireless spiritual benefactors to sustain us in performing the tasks with which we are committed before the Father.

Bibliography

1. Godoy, Paulo Alves. As Maravilhosas Parábolas de Jesus (The Wonderful Parables of Jesus) , 9th ed., FEESP Editions - SÃO PAULO / SP - 2008.

2. EMMANUEL (Spirit). Caminho, Verdade e Vida (The Pathway, the Truth and Life), [psychographed by] F. C. Xavier - 17th ed., Brazilian Spiritist Federation - RIO DE JANEIRO / RJ - Lesson 157.

3. Idem.Fonte Viva (Lively Fountain), [psychographed by] F.C. Xavier - 31 th ed. - Brazilian Spiritist Federation - RIO DE JANEIRO / RJ - Lesson 126.

Another source:

Schutel, Cairbar. Parábolas e Ensinos de Jesus (Parables and Teachings of Jesus) 14th ed., Publishing House O Clarim - MATÃO / SP - 1997 - pg.74.