[The Samaritan] went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. [And Jesus said] Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And [the lawyer] said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. (Luke 10:34-37, KJV)
This week's featured image of the Good Samaritan is an oil on paper painting by American Artist Edward Knippers, where it takes no particulary discerning eye to notice that both the Jew stripped of his clothes and left half dead on the road and the Samaritan who comes to his rescue are naked. Knippers believes the body is an essential element in the Christian doctrines of Creation, Incarnation and Resurrection and celebrates the physicality of his biblical figures by portraying them in the nude. His method has particular meaning in this biblical tale about overcoming prejudice now on view in the gallery of the Knippers profile page in the Sacred Artists section. Stripped of clothes that type us by class or ethnicity we are all equals. (John Kohan)