Historical Setting, 626 C.E. The Vintner’s Cottage on the Moselle
This man recites the law precisely. So how does his understanding of this simple message turn into something so completely different than Jesus could ever have intended?
I argue, “I know Jesus, his followers and even the lawyer in the conversation were all Jewish so even when missing the point of the story how could this possibly be a teaching against Jews? In fact, Jesus told a story to make this message perfectly clear.” So, I explain, “when the lawyer asked for that clarification, ‘Who is my neighbor’? He answered with a story.”
“Yes!” The vintner’s hand gestures are so grand he stands up to recite the story! “It is that story that says it all!” Now he finds his seat again, and pours us both some vinegar. “The story goes, a man was walking down the river path.”
“Actually, he was walking down the road from Jericho.”
The vintner tastes the vinegar in his cup and pours out his cup, as he explains, “it doesn’t matter which road it was. The man was robbed and beaten and left for dead — when along came a rabbi, and he walked on the other side, and so did a lawyer, so all the Jews left him for dead.”
“Actually, everyone was Jewish, the man who was robbed, and the people listening to the story and even Jesus, who was telling the story; it’s an old Jewish story.”
“Of course, Jesus is really the Christ so he is speaking for the Christians.”
“There were no Christians then.”
“He wanted us to know, and now we know, that it is important to be able to sort out the good from the bad. So, when the Samaritan came along, who was notably the ‘good Samaritan,’ he was what they had to fill in for Christians way back then.”
“Actually, the Samaritans were the outcasts. They were the ones the people of that time and place avoided. They were the butt of jokes, the goatherds in the midst of vintners, …”
“The story would make no sense if Samaritans weren’t the good Christians of the time. The good Samaritan acted like a good neighbor to the man, and that is how the story ends.”
Oh dear Jesus, I pray silently, it is all backwards!
The vintner pours out my vinegar, and refreshes my cup with his own fine wine. “So, my friend, Laz the goatherd, the Christians are neighbors together here on this side of the river – good neighbors we are.”
(Continues tomorrow)
Lazarus Ink 