His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, in this sermon, explains the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37), revealing the deep spiritual meaning of true, active love and mercy that every person should show toward others without discrimination or selfishness.

Symbolic Meaning:
His Holiness teaches that the man descending from Jerusalem to Jericho represents humanity falling from holiness into sin, attacked by Satan (the thieves), who stripped him of righteousness and innocence. The Good Samaritan represents Christ Himself, who came to heal humanity’s wounds and restore life—pouring oil (symbolizing the Holy Spirit) and wine (symbolizing the Eucharist), and placing the wounded man in the inn (the Church) for recovery and rest.

Practical Meaning:
Pope Shenouda emphasizes that the priest and the Levite represent knowledge without action and formal service without compassion. The Samaritan, however, acted with heartfelt love, showing that a “neighbor” is every person in need, not just someone close by relation or belief. True love knows no fanaticism or boundaries.

Spiritual Lessons:

• True love begins in the heart before it becomes action.

• God arranges every opportunity for doing good and calls us to respond.

• All our possessions and talents are God’s trust to serve others.

• Christ Himself is the true Good Samaritan who gave not just coins but His own blood and life for our salvation.

• Like Christ, we must seek to win souls, not lose them, focusing on the goodness in people rather than their faults.

Overall Message:
This parable calls for love to be the foundation of human relationships and to see in every person in need the image of Christ Himself. Love that makes no distinction is the essence of practical faith and communion with God.