A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him. (Luke 10:30-33, KJV)
In this week's featured artwork on the parables, Scottish Artist Frances Watt shows how Christ interpreted the notion of "neighborhood" in his story of the Good Samaritan to encompass the whole world. The mixed media painting, now on view on her profile page in the Sacred Artists section, shows a bleak stretch of the Jerusalem to Jericho road where the injured man and his roadside savior are small in scale when compared with the mist shrouded expanse taking up most of the picture space. By giving us the "big picture," Watt remains us the Jew in need was not the first nor the last traveler to be robbed while making this perilous journey. Nor should we view his rescuer's response as something exceptional. In a world as full of dangers as our own, we are all called to be Good Samaritans with acts of kindness, great and small. (John Kohan)