Christ Jesus, the most scientific of all men, spoke to the multitude in parables. But to his immediate followers he said in substance that these parables should offer no mysteries. "Blessed are your eyes, for they see," he told them; "and your ears, for they hear" (Matt. 13:16). Through their spiritual enlightenment the disciples were able to discern in some measure the teachings of the master Metaphysician.
One day when asked a question regarding who our neighbor is, the wise Master replied in one of his most famous parables, the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-35). In this parable the great Master told of a certain man who while on a journey was beset by thieves, who stripped him, wounded him, and left him half dead. A priest who saw him ignored his needs and passed by on the other side. Then came a Levite, who did the same. Then appeared the good Samaritan, who "came where he was." He did not stand aloof and say, "God is Love," and then walk away. No, he witnessed to the fact that God is Love by binding up the wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and taking the man to an inn. Could we not think of him as being carried into the consciousness of Love's ever-presence, where he could find relief from his wounds? Here he could find the oil of joy, the wine of inspiration, and the Love that is Principle, God, who never deserts His beloved son.
Here is a simple story with such a profound meaning that it escapes the learned but is plain to the humble seeker after Truth. How many of us have to mortal sense been stripped by the thieves of time and robbed of our ability, agility, activity, and clear seeing and hearing? How many of us have been wounded by the selfishness of personal sense, by fears, by the misunderstanding of others, and robbed by false theology?
