15th SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME: YEAR C
By Fr. Casmir Odundo This Sunday’s gospel passage is on the Good Samaritan; one of the most famous parables of Jesus with many interpretations. Of course, the Gospel is ever new. Every time you read and meditate upon it something new comes out. Of the many interpretations of this passage, the one I like best is that given by the Fathers of the Church particularly St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St. John Chrysostom and many others. According to St. Augustine, the “man” who fell at the hands of robbers in this case is “Adam” and by extension all of us. Augustine compares the state of this man to what befell our first parents in the Book of Genesis, resulting in Original Sin. This “man” was travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho. According to St. Augustine, Jerusalem which etymologically means “the City of Peace” represents heaven. On the other hand Jericho represents “human mortality.” Thus it depicts how our first parents fell from Grace to sin. The robbers in this case represen