🩹 Mifano ya Biblia — Sehemu ya 12: Msamaria Mwema🩹 Parables of the Bible — Unit 12: The Good Samaritan

UtanguliziOrientation

Msemo "Msamaria Mwema" unatumika duniani kote kumwelezea mtu yeyote anayejitahidi kwa namna ya pekee kumsaidia mgeni. Hospitali zimepewa jina lake, na nchi nyingi zina "sheria za Msamaria Mwema" zinazowalinda watu wanaosimama kusaidia wakati wa dharura. Kipindi cha mwisho cha mfululizo wa vichekesho wa Kimarekani Seinfeld mwaka 1998 hata kiliishia kwa wahusika wake wakuu wanne kukamatwa katika mji mdogo wa Massachusetts chini ya "sheria mpya ya Msamaria Mwema," kwa sababu walisimama kando ya barabara wakifanya mzaha na kurekodi video wakati mtu mmoja alipokuwa akiporwa, wala hawakuinua kidole kumsaidia. Sikuweza kujizuia kujiuliza kama waandishi walichukua kipindi hicho chote moja kwa moja kutoka katika habari ya Luka.The phrase "Good Samaritan" is used around the world to describe anyone who goes out of his way to help a stranger. Hospitals are named after him, and many countries have "Good Samaritan laws" that protect people who stop to help in an emergency. The final episode of the American comedy Seinfeld in 1998 even ended with its four main characters arrested in a small Massachusetts town under a new "Good Samaritan law," because they had stood on the sidewalk joking and filming while a man was robbed, and never lifted a finger to help. I couldn't help but wonder whether the writers took the whole episode right out of Luke's story.

Mfano huu unajulikana sana kiasi kwamba ni rahisi kuusikia kama somo jepesi la kuwa mwema tu. Lakini Yesu aliusimulia katika wakati wa mvutano, kwa mtu aliyekuwa akijaribu kumtega na kujidai haki. Katika Sehemu ya 1 tuliutumia mfano huu kuonyesha hatari mbili: kuufanya kuwa fumbo kupita kiasi, kama alivyofanya Augustino, na kuugeuza kuwa somo la maadili tu, tukiipunguza hadithi kuwa "watendee watu wema." Katika sehemu hii tunausoma katika mazingira yake na kuuacha ufanye kile ambacho Yesu alikusudia ufanye.The parable is so familiar that it is easy to hear it as a simple lesson in being nice. But Jesus told it in a tense moment, to a man trying to trap Him and to justify himself. In Unit 1 we used this parable to show two dangers: over-allegorizing, as Augustine did, and moralizing, reducing the story to "be kind to people." In this unit we read it in its setting and let it do what Jesus meant it to do.

I. Maswali ya Mwana-sheria (Luka 10:25–29)I. The Lawyer's Questions (Luke 10:25–29)

Mwana-sheria mmoja, mtaalamu wa sheria ya Musa, "alisimama amjaribu, akisema, Mwalimu, nifanye nini ili niurithi uzima wa milele?" (10:25). Lilikuwa swali muhimu kuliko yote ambalo mtu yeyote anaweza kuuliza, lakini aliliuliza ili kumfanya seremala huyu Mgalilaya asiye na shahada wala vyeti aonekane mjinga mbele ya makutano. Yesu alimrudishia mtaalamu swali lile: "Imeandikwa nini katika torati? Wasomaje?" Mwana-sheria alijibu vizuri, akinukuu Kumbukumbu la Torati 6:5 na Mambo ya Walawi 19:18: mpende Mungu kwa moyo wako wote, kwa roho yako yote, kwa nguvu zako zote, na kwa akili zako zote, na "jirani yako kama nafsi yako." Yesu akasema, "Umejibu vema; fanya hivi, nawe utaishi" (10:28). Yule mjaribu sasa alikuwa akijaribiwa.A lawyer, an expert in the law of Moses, "stood up and tested Him, saying, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?'" (10:25). It was the most important question anyone can ask, but he asked it to make this Galilean carpenter with no degrees or credentials look foolish before the crowd. Jesus turned the question back to the expert: "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" The lawyer answered well, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18: love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and "your neighbor as yourself." Jesus said, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live" (10:28). The tester was now being tested.

"Naye akitaka kujidai haki, akamwambia Yesu, Na jirani yangu ni nani?" (10:29). Kwa mtindo wa kawaida wa mwana-sheria, alijaribu kujitetea kwa kuipunguza maana ya neno hilo. Mambo ya Walawi 19:18 inazungumza juu ya "wana wa watu wako," na wengi wa siku zile waliliwekea mipaka neno "jirani" kuwa Wayahudi wenzao tu, na wengine kuwa Wayahudi wenzao walioshika sheria kwa ukali kama wao. Kama angeweza kuchora duara dogo vya kutosha, angeweza kudai kwamba ameishika amri. Yesu hakujibu kwa maana ya kamusi. Alisimulia hadithi."But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'" (10:29). In typical lawyer fashion, he tried to defend himself by narrowing the definition. Leviticus 19:18 speaks of "the children of your people," and many in that day limited "neighbor" to fellow Jews, and some to fellow Jews who kept the law as strictly as they did. If he could draw the circle small enough, he could claim to have kept the commandment. Jesus did not answer with a dictionary definition. He told a story.

II. Wanyang'anyi: "Chako Ni Changu, Nami Nitakichukua"II. The Robbers: "What's Yours Is Mine, and I Will Take It"

"Mtu mmoja alikuwa akishuka kutoka Yerusalemu kwenda Yeriko; akaangukia kati ya wanyang'anyi, wakamvua nguo zake, wakampiga, wakaenda zao, wakimwacha karibu kufa" (10:30). Barabara kutoka Yerusalemu kwenda Yeriko ina urefu wa takriban maili kumi na saba (kama kilomita 27) na inashuka karibu futi 3,300 (kama mita 1,000) kupitia vilima vikavu vya miamba vilivyojaa kona kali na vipito vyembamba ambapo majambazi wangeweza kujificha. Waandishi wa Kikristo wa kwanza waliita sehemu yake "njia ya damu." Wanyang'anyi walichukua hata nguo za mtu yule na kumpiga karibu kumuua."A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead" (10:30). The road from Jerusalem to Jericho runs about seventeen miles and drops some 3,300 feet through barren, rocky hills full of sharp turns and narrow passes where bandits could hide. Early Christian writers called part of it the "bloody way." The robbers took even the man's clothes and beat him almost to death.

Wanyang'anyi wanawakilisha falsafa ya maisha: "Chako ni changu, nami nitakichukua." Walimwona msafiri si kama mtu bali kama nafasi ya kujipatia faida. Mtazamo huo bado uko pamoja nasi. Amri ya nane inasema, "Usiibe," na tunaweza kuiba kwa kutolipa madeni yetu, kwa kutofanya kazi ya siku nzima kwa uaminifu, na hata, kama Malaki 3:8 inavyoonya, kwa kumwibia Mungu katika zaka na dhabihu.The robbers represent a philosophy of life: "What's yours is mine, and I will take it." They saw the traveler not as a person but as an opportunity. That attitude is still with us. The eighth commandment says, "You shall not steal," and we can steal by not paying our debts, by not giving an honest day's work, and even, as Malachi 3:8 warns, by robbing God in tithes and offerings.

Kwa miaka mingi mimi na mke wangu Andi tulifanya huduma ya magerezani huko Louisiana. Mfungwa mmoja aitwaye Scott baadaye aliandika kuhusu gereza alimokuwa akiishi "kama mfalme kwa mtazamo wa gerezani," akiingiza simu kwa magendo na kupigana. Katika Krismasi ya mwaka 2009 mwanachama mmoja wa genge alijaribu kuiba simu yake ya mkononi akamchoma kisu, na Scott anaamini kwamba walinzi waliokuwa marafiki wa mtu yule walijaribu kuwaweka katika chumba kimoja cha gereza. Saa chache baadaye, saa nane usiku, jina la Scott liliitwa kwa ajili ya uhamisho ambao babu yake na huduma yetu walikuwa wameshauomba. Aliandika kwamba Mungu alipanga jambo hilo na kuokoa maisha yake, na kwamba katika gereza jipya alipata amani na nafasi ambazo kamwe asingezifuatilia alipokuwa mitaani. Falsafa ya wanyang'anyi ilikaribia kumuua. Neema ilimwokoa.For years my wife Andi and I worked in prison ministry in Louisiana. An inmate named Scott later wrote about the prison where he had been living "like a king from a penitentiary perspective," smuggling phones and fighting. On Christmas of 2009 a gang member tried to steal his cell phone and stabbed him, and Scott believes guards friendly to that man tried to put him in the same cell. A few hours later, at two in the morning, Scott's name was called for a transfer that his grandfather and our ministry had already requested. He wrote that God had orchestrated it and saved his life, and that at the new prison he found peace and opportunities he would never have pursued on the streets. The robbers' philosophy nearly killed him. Grace rescued him.

III. Watu wa Dini: "Changu Ni Changu, Nami Nitakishikilia"III. The Religious: "What's Mine Is Mine, and I Will Keep It"

"Kwa nasibu kuhani mmoja alikuwa akishuka kwa njia ile, na alipomwona, alipita kando. Na Mlawi vile vile, alipofika pale, akaja akamtazama, akapita kando" (10:31–32). Kulikuwa na makuhani wengi sana katika Israeli kiasi kwamba kila mmoja alihudumu hekaluni kwa wiki mbili tu kwa mwaka, na wengi wao waliishi Yeriko. Wasikilizaji wa Yesu wangetarajia mtu wa Mungu akimbilie kusaidia. Mlawi, msaidizi wa hekaluni, alikwenda hatua kidogo zaidi: alikuja akatazama, kisha akaharakisha kuendelea."Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side" (10:31–32). There were so many priests in Israel that each one served in the temple for only two weeks a year, and many of them lived in Jericho. Jesus' hearers would have expected a man of God to rush to help. The Levite, a temple assistant, went a little further: he came and looked, and then hurried on.

Huenda walikuwa na sababu zao. Sheria iliwakataza makuhani kugusa maiti (Mambo ya Walawi 21:1–4), na mtu yule alikuwa amelala "karibu kufa"; huenda hakuwa akitikisika. Mlawi huenda alijua kwamba majambazi wakati mwingine walimtumia mtu "aliyejeruhiwa" kama chambo ili kuwavizia wasafiri waliosimama kusaidia. Huenda wewe umewahi kumpita mtu ambaye gari lake limeharibika barabarani kwa sababu uliogopa au ulikuwa na haraka. Lakini sheria ilikuwa wazi vile vile kuhusu kuwasaidia wenye mahitaji, hata adui: "Ukikutana na ng'ombe wa adui yako, au punda wake, akipotea, hakika utamrudisha kwake tena" (Kutoka 23:4). Kuhani alikuwa na mafundisho sahihi kabisa, naye alimwacha mtu afe shimoni kando ya njia. Falsafa ya kidini inasema, "Changu ni changu, nami nitakishikilia": muda wangu, usalama wangu, usafi wangu, ratiba yangu.They may have had their reasons. The law forbade priests to touch a dead body (Leviticus 21:1–4), and the man lay "half dead"; he might not have been moving. The Levite may have known that bandits sometimes used a "wounded" decoy to ambush travelers who stopped to help. Maybe you have passed someone broken down on the highway because you were afraid or in a hurry. But the law was just as clear about helping those in need, even an enemy: "If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall surely bring it back to him again" (Exodus 23:4). The priest was perfectly orthodox, and he left a man to die in a ditch. The religious philosophy says, "What's mine is mine, and I will keep it": my time, my safety, my purity, my schedule.

Yakobo anauliza, "Ikiwa ndugu mume au mke hana nguo, akapungukiwa na riziki ya kila siku, na mmoja wenu akawaambia, Enendeni kwa amani, mkaote moto na kushiba; lakini asiwape mahitaji ya mwili, yafaa nini?" (Yakobo 2:15–16). Mwanamke Mkristo aitwaye Diane Dew aliandika juu ya miezi ambayo yeye na mwanawe mdogo hawakuwa na makao. Katika mkutano wa maombi aliomba aombewe ili apate mahali pa kuishi, na ombi lililofuata mara moja lilitoka kwa mshiriki wa kanisa aliyekuwa akimwomba Mungu amletee mpangaji wa nyumba yake iliyokuwa tupu. Alipoomba kuipanga, alimkatalia na kumwambia kwamba alihitaji kumtumaini Mungu zaidi. Kanisa moja lilimnyima sanduku la chakula kutoka ghala lake la chakula kwa sababu "hatujakuona hapa siku za karibuni," ingawa wiki iliyotangulia hakuna mtu aliyekubali kumpa usafiri wa kwenda ibadani. Wachungaji walimpa mistari ya Biblia na ushauri lakini hawakumpa msaada. Mwishowe, wageni waliosoma habari yake gazetini walimpa makao na kazi. Yesu alisema, "Kadiri mlivyomtendea mmojawapo wa hao ndugu zangu walio wadogo, mlinitendea mimi" (Mathayo 25:40). Kuna hekaya ya zamani kuhusu Martin wa Tours, askari wa Kirumi aliyeikata joho lake katikati ili kumpa nusu ombaomba aliyekuwa akitetemeka kwa baridi kwenye lango la mji. Usiku ule aliota akimwona Yesu mbinguni amevaa nusu ya joho la askari. Malaika alipouliza kwa nini, Yesu alijibu, "Mtumishi wangu Martin alinipa."James asks, "If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?" (James 2:15–16). A Christian woman named Diane Dew wrote about the months she and her young son were homeless. At a prayer meeting she asked for prayer for a place to live, and the very next request came from a church member asking God to send a tenant for his empty apartment. When she asked to rent it, he turned her down and told her she needed to trust God more. A church refused her a box of food from its pantry because "we haven't seen you here lately," though the week before no one would give her a ride to the service. Pastors gave her verses and advice but no help. In the end, strangers who read her story in a newspaper offered housing and work. Jesus said, "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me" (Matthew 25:40). There is an old legend about Martin of Tours, a Roman soldier who cut his cloak in half to give to a freezing beggar at the city gate. That night he dreamed he saw Jesus in heaven wearing half a soldier's cloak. When an angel asked why, Jesus answered, "My servant Martin gave it to Me."

IV. Mkombozi: "Changu Ni Chako, Nami Nitakushirikisha"IV. The Redeemer: "What's Mine Is Yours, and I Will Share It"

"Lakini Msamaria mmoja, alipokuwa akisafiri, alifika hapo alipo; naye alipomwona, alimhurumia" (10:33). Hadi hapo kila mtu alikuwa akiifurahia hadithi. Baada ya kuhani na Mlawi, makutano walitarajia shujaa awe Myahudi wa kawaida. Badala yake Yesu alimtaja mtu wa mwisho ambaye walitaka kumsikia. Baada ya Ashuru kuushinda ufalme wa kaskazini mwaka 722 K.K., wageni waliwekwa katika nchi ile na kuoana na Waisraeli waliobaki. Wayahudi wa Yerusalemu waliwadharau wazao wao, yaani Wasamaria, kama machotara na wazushi walioabudu juu ya Mlima Gerizimu badala ya Yerusalemu (Yohana 4:20). Mtu wa mwisho ambaye mtu yeyote alitarajia amsaidie Myahudi aliyejeruhiwa alikuwa Msamaria."But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion" (10:33). Up to this point everyone liked the story. After a priest and a Levite, the crowd expected the hero to be an ordinary Jewish man. Instead Jesus named the last person they wanted to hear. After Assyria conquered the northern kingdom in 722 BC, foreigners were settled in the land and intermarried with the Israelites who remained. The Jews of Jerusalem despised their descendants, the Samaritans, as half-breeds and heretics who worshiped on Mount Gerizim instead of in Jerusalem (John 4:20). The last person anyone expected to help a wounded Jew was a Samaritan.

Tazama alichokifanya. "Akakaribia, akamfunga jeraha zake, akizitia mafuta na divai; akampandisha juu ya mnyama wake, akamleta hata nyumba ya wageni, akamtunza" (10:34). Mafuta yalituliza na divai ilisafisha majeraha. Alitembea kwa miguu ili yule aliyejeruhiwa apande. Alikaa usiku ule. Siku iliyofuata alimpa mwenye nyumba ya wageni dinari mbili, ujira wa siku mbili, akasema, "Mtunze huyu; na cho chote utakachogharimiwa zaidi, mimi nitakulipa nitakaporudi" (10:35). Alimpa mwenye nyumba ya wageni hundi isiyoandikwa kiasi kwa ajili ya mgeni. Falsafa yake ilikuwa, "Changu ni chako, nami nitakushirikisha."Look at what he did. "He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him" (10:34). Oil soothed and wine cleaned the wounds. He walked so the wounded man could ride. He stayed the night. The next day he gave the innkeeper two denarii, two days' wages, and said, "Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you" (10:35). He handed the innkeeper a blank check for a stranger. His philosophy was, "What's mine is yours, and I will share it."

Alan Chalmers alisimulia juu ya mhandisi mashuhuri aitwaye Peter Holme aliyejenga madaraja na reli lakini akapoteza kila kitu na kurudi katika umaskini kijijini kwao. Jirani yake alifuga mbwa mkali, na Holme alipomwonya, yule mzee alimlaani. Siku moja Holme alirudi nyumbani akamkuta mbwa yule amemkamata koo binti yake mdogo, naye akafa. Kijiji kizima kilimgeuka mwenye mbwa yule; wakati wa kupanda hakuna aliyekubali kumwuzia mbegu, na mashamba yake yaliyolimwa yakabaki matupu. Asubuhi moja na mapema sana, Holme alichukua nusu pishi ya mwisho ya shayiri aliyokuwa nayo, akavuka ua, akapanda shamba la jirani yake. Nafaka ilipoota, mashamba yalisimulia habari yenyewe: sehemu ya shamba la Holme ilibaki tupu, na shamba la adui yake lilikuwa la kijani. Hivyo ndivyo Msamaria alivyofanya.Alan Chalmers told of a famous engineer named Peter Holme who built bridges and railroads but lost everything and returned in poverty to his home village. His neighbor kept a vicious dog, and when Holme warned him, the old man cursed him. One day Holme came home to find the dog at his little daughter's throat, and she died. The whole village turned against the dog's owner; at planting time no one would sell him seed, and his plowed fields lay bare. Very early one morning, Holme took his own last half bushel of barley, climbed the fence, and sowed his neighbor's field. When the grain came up, the fields told the story: part of Holme's field lay bare, and his enemy's field was green. That is what the Samaritan did.

Huruma bado ni ya vitendo. Huko West Virginia mtu mmoja aitwaye Stan Allman alisoma gazetini juu ya baba wa watoto watatu mwenye umri wa miaka arobaini, aliyeishi kwa msaada wa serikali, aliyekuwa akiomba lifti maili thelathini kila siku ili kumaliza shahada yake ya uhandisi. Allman alifanya kazi ya muda ya kufunga bidhaa za wateja dukani, na mke wake alifanya kazi katika mkahawa wa vyakula vya haraka, lakini walikuwa na magari matatu na madereva wawili tu. Kwa hiyo walimpa yule mwanafunzi gari lao la zamani la mizigo aina ya pick-up. "Asante, Yesu!" mke wake alilia aliposikia.Compassion is still practical. In West Virginia a man named Stan Allman read in the newspaper about a forty-year-old father of three, on welfare, who was hitchhiking thirty miles each day to finish his engineering degree. Allman bagged groceries part-time, and his wife worked at a fast-food restaurant, but they had three vehicles and only two drivers. So they gave the student their old pickup truck. "Thank you, Jesus!" his wife cried when she heard.

V. Swali Lililogeuzwa (Luka 10:36–37)V. The Question Turned Around (Luke 10:36–37)

Kisha Yesu akampa mwana-sheria mtihani wake mwenyewe: "Waonaje wewe, katika hao watatu, ni yupi aliyekuwa jirani yake yule aliyeangukia kati ya wanyang'anyi?" (10:36). Angalia kwamba Yesu alilibadilisha swali. Mwana-sheria alikuwa ameuliza, "Jirani yangu ni nani?" akimaanisha, "Ni nani ninayelazimika kumpenda?" Yesu aliuliza, "Ni nani aliyejionyesha kuwa jirani?" Swali halisi si "Ni nani anayestahili upendo wangu?" bali "Ninaweza kuwa jirani kwa nani?" Mwana-sheria hakuweza hata kujilazimisha kulitamka neno "Msamaria." Alijibu, "Ni yule aliyemwonea huruma." Naye Yesu akasema, "Enenda zako, nawe ukafanye vivyo hivyo" (10:37).Then Jesus gave the lawyer a test of his own: "Which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" (10:36). Notice that Jesus changed the question. The lawyer had asked, "Who is my neighbor?" meaning, "Whom am I required to love?" Jesus asked, "Who proved to be a neighbor?" The real question is not "Who qualifies for my love?" but "To whom can I be a neighbor?" The lawyer could not even bring himself to say the word "Samaritan." He answered, "He who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said, "Go and do likewise" (10:37).

Mchungaji mmoja huko Gary, Indiana, alisimulia juu ya mwanamke mmoja katika kikundi chake cha kujifunza Biblia aliyekuwa akijificha kutoka kwa mume mnyanyasaji aliyejaribu kuagiza auawe. Aliishi katika nyumba mbovu juu ya nyumba ya kuuzia dawa za kulevya. Mtu fulani alipovunja mlango wake wa nyuma usiku mmoja, polisi hawakuja, na huduma za ustawi wa jamii hazikuwa zimeweza kumsaidia, lakini wauzaji wa dawa za kulevya wa ghorofa ya chini walikaa ngazini usiku kucha kumlinda. Katika habari yake polisi walikuwa kuhani, huduma za ustawi wa jamii zilikuwa Mlawi, na wauzaji wa dawa za kulevya walikuwa Msamaria. Mfano huu bado unatushtua tunapoona ni nani anayejionyesha kuwa jirani, na ni nani asiyejionyesha.A pastor in Gary, Indiana, told of a woman in her Bible study who was hiding from an abusive husband who had tried to have her killed. She lived in a wretched apartment above a drug house. When someone broke down her back door one night, the police did not come, and social services had not been able to help her, but the drug dealers downstairs sat on the stairs all night to protect her. In her story the police were the priest, the social services were the Levite, and the drug dealers were the Samaritan. The parable still shocks us when we see who proves to be a neighbor, and who does not.

Tunawezaje kujua kama tunampenda Mungu? Injini za zamani za mvuke zilikuwa na mabweta makubwa ya maji, na haikuwezekana kuona ndani kuna maji kiasi gani. Kwa hiyo mrija mdogo wa kioo uliwekwa kando ya nje kama kipimo. Yohana anatupa kipimo cha upendo wetu kwa Mungu: "Lakini yeye aliye na riziki ya dunia, akamwona ndugu yake ni mhitaji, akamzuilia huruma zake, je! Upendo wa Mungu wakaaje ndani yake huyo?" (1 Yohana 3:17). Upendo wetu kwa wengine unaonyesha ni kiasi gani cha upendo kwa Mungu kilichomo ndani kwa kweli.How can we know whether we love God? The old steam engines had great boilers, and it was impossible to see how much water was inside. So a small glass tube ran along the outside as a gauge. John gives us the gauge for our love for God: "Whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?" (1 John 3:17). Our love for others shows how much love for God is really inside.

VI. Msamaria na MwokoziVI. The Samaritan and the Savior

Katika Sehemu ya 1 tuliona jinsi Augustino alivyogeuza kila undani wa mfano huu kuwa ishara: nyumba ya wageni ikawa kanisa na mwenye nyumba ya wageni akawa Paulo. Hatupaswi kufanya hivyo. Nyumba ya wageni ni nyumba ya wageni. Lakini pia hatupaswi kukosa kweli kubwa zaidi. Mwana-sheria aliuliza afanye nini ili aurithi uzima wa milele, na mfano unaonyesha kwamba hakuna mtu anayempenda jirani yake kikamilifu. Unaifichua jitihada ya mwana-sheria ya kujidai haki, na yetu pia. Hatuwezi kuupata uzima wa milele kwa kustahili kwa kuishika amri hii; sisi sote tumepita kando.In Unit 1 we saw how Augustine turned every detail of this parable into a symbol: the inn became the church and the innkeeper became Paul. We should not do that. The inn is an inn. But we should not miss the larger truth either. The lawyer asked what he must do to inherit eternal life, and the parable shows that no one loves his neighbor perfectly. It exposes the lawyer's attempt to justify himself, and ours. We cannot earn eternal life by keeping this commandment; we have all passed by on the other side.

Wala hatuwezi kujizuia kumwona Yesu katika yule Msamaria. Yesu mwenyewe alidharauliwa na kuitwa Msamaria na adui zake (Yohana 8:48). Sisi ndio tuliokuwa tumelala bila msaada kando ya njia, tumejeruhiwa na dhambi, tusiweze kujiinua wenyewe. Kristo hakupita kando. Kwa gharama ya maisha yake mwenyewe alikuja hapo tulipokuwa, akatufunga majeraha yetu, akalipa gharama yoyote iliyohitajika ili kutufanya wazima. Msiba ni kwamba watu wengi leo, kama yule mwana-sheria, wamemwona Kristo lakini hawajamtambua kuwa Mwokozi wao. Ni wale tu walioipokea rehema ya yule Msamaria wanaoweza kwa kweli "kwenda na kufanya vivyo hivyo."And we cannot help seeing Jesus in the Samaritan. Jesus was Himself despised and called a Samaritan by His enemies (John 8:48). We were the ones lying helpless by the road, wounded by sin, unable to pick ourselves up. Christ did not pass by on the other side. At the cost of His own life He came to where we were, bound up our wounds, and paid whatever it cost to make us whole. The tragedy is that many people today, like the lawyer, have seen Christ but have not recognized Him as their Savior. Only those who have received the Samaritan's mercy can truly "go and do likewise."

VII. Kuhubiri Msamaria MwemaVII. Preaching the Good Samaritan

Mfano huu unahubirika kwa uwazi kwa falsafa tatu za maisha: wanyang'anyi, "Chako ni changu, nami nitakichukua"; watu wa dini, "Changu ni changu, nami nitakishikilia"; na Mkombozi, "Changu ni chako, nami nitakushirikisha." Liulize kusanyiko ni falsafa ipi inayotawala maisha yao. Hakikisha unaijumuisha injili: mfano unaonyesha hitaji letu la Mwokozi kabla haujatutuma kwenda kutumika. Malizia kwa matumizi ya vitendo. Wengi wetu tunahitaji kulegeza ratiba zetu ili tuwe na nguvu za kujali; Yesu hakuonekana kamwe kuwa na haraka, na huenda kuhani na Mlawi walikuwa na mahali muhimu pa kwenda. Kulingana na habari inayojulikana sana, Mama Teresa aliwahi kumjibu kijana mmoja aliyeuliza jinsi ya kuyafanya maisha yake yawe na maana kwa kadi iliyosema, "Tafuta Kalkuta yako mwenyewe."This parable preaches clearly with three philosophies of life: the robbers, "What's yours is mine, and I will take it"; the religious, "What's mine is mine, and I will keep it"; and the Redeemer, "What's mine is yours, and I will share it." Ask the congregation which philosophy rules their lives. Be sure to include the gospel: the parable shows our need of a Savior before it sends us out to serve. Close with practical application. Many of us need to relax our schedules so that we have energy to care; Jesus never seemed rushed, and the priest and Levite probably had important places to be. Mother Teresa, according to a well-known story, once answered a young man who asked how to make his life count with a card that said, "Find your own Calcutta."

Haddon Robinson alisimulia jinsi alivyomwuliza mwanawe mdogo alichojifunza katika shule ya Jumapili. Mvulana alimwelezea Msamaria Mwema kwa undani. "Mwanangu, funzo la kiroho la hadithi hii ni nini?" baba yake aliuliza. Mvulana alifikiri akasema, "Kwamba kila ninapokuwa katika shida, lazima unisaidie." Hilo si jibu kamili, lakini ukiwa shimoni kando ya barabara, ni njia mojawapo ya kumtazama jirani.Haddon Robinson told of asking his young son what he had learned in Sunday school. The boy described the Good Samaritan in detail. "Son, what is the spiritual lesson of the story?" his father asked. The boy thought and said, "That whenever I'm in trouble, you've got to help me." It is not the whole answer, but from the ditch beside the road, it is one way of looking at a neighbor.

HitimishoClosing

Dunia yote iko kati ya Yerusalemu na Yeriko, nayo imejaa watu waliojeruhiwa. Wanyang'anyi bado wanasema, "Chako ni changu." Watu wa dini bado wanasema, "Changu ni changu." Lakini Mkombozi alishuka njia ile akasema, "Changu ni chako." Sala moja ambayo kwa mapokeo inahusishwa na Teresa wa Ávila inasema hivi: Kristo hana mwili sasa duniani ila wako, hana mikono ila yako, hana miguu ila yako. Kwa kuwa tumeipokea rehema yake, tunasikia amri yake: "Enenda zako, nawe ukafanye vivyo hivyo."All the world lies between Jerusalem and Jericho, and it is full of wounded people. The robbers still say, "What's yours is mine." The religious still say, "What's mine is mine." But the Redeemer came down that road and said, "What's mine is yours." A prayer traditionally attributed to Teresa of Ávila puts it this way: Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Having received His mercy, we hear His command: "Go and do likewise."

— Dkt. Wayne Cook
Seminari ya Teolojia ya Chapala— Dr. Wayne Cook
Chapala Theological Seminary

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