reconciliation - A Well Examined Life

[Author’s Note: This is the continuation of an essay I authored on December 25, 2025, called “An Adult Christ at Christmas,” a title I borrowed from a short treatise authored by the Catholic biblical scholar, Raymond Brown. I recommend you read that essay first (if you have not already done so) before reading this one.]

“Life is constant movement, and therefore goodness in life is not a certain state, but the direction of movement.”
Blaise Pascal, Pensées

“A text without a context is just a pretext for making it say anything one wants.”
Ben Witherington, III, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Asbury Theological Seminary

The Parable of the Good Samaritan, as recorded by Luke the Evangelist, was delivered by Jesus during his final journey to Jerusalem. It is arguably the most well-known of Christ’s short stories. Lamentably, it is also the parable most prone to decontextualization, i.e., removing the story from its original context in order to advance an interpretation Christ never intended for the sole purpose of championing a parochial interest. This is especially true of allegorical readings of this text.^[1]

The names by which we know Christ’s parables are often our own invention; they usually cannot be found in the scriptures. While these labels provide a convenient way to refer to a given story, they sometimes distort and obscure its message. A good example of this phenomenon is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. After studying this text more carefully, I believe it would be more accurate to call it: “The Parable of the Dysfunctional Family of Man.”

Jesus recounted this parable as he traveled from Galilee to Jerusalem. And Luke makes it clear that his audiences, like us, were large and diverse, consisting of disciples, detractors (e.g., scribes and Pharisees), sinners, tax collectors, and curiosity seekers.

Tag: reconciliation

A Samaritan and an Innkeeper

The Dysfunctional Family of Man