The sermon for this Sunday is based upon the reading from the Gospel of St. Luke chapter 10:25-37, which is the 8th Sunday of Luke and deals with the story of the Good Samaritan.
It has been explained that the man going from Jerusalem to Jericho was Adam representing humanity. The robbers who fell upon the man and nearly beat him to death were according to the ancient Fathers, Satan and his demons.
The Good Samaritan was Christ who stopped to bind the wounds of “all of humanity”. The Inn where the Samaritan brought the injured man was the “Church”, and the two coins that the Samaritan gave to the innkeeper represented the two highest commandments: The love of God and the love of neighbor.
Christ is frequently called merciful, for Christ is the embodiment of sacrificial love, love that cannot bear the suffering of humanity but comes to the world to redeem humanity from the slavery of sin even though the cost is crucifixion.
This is the essence of the Gospel of the Good Samaritan which was allegorically explained by one of the Fathers of the Church, the blessed Augustine.
