A reflective in-depth reading of the Good Samaritan narrative (Lk 10): this is what you will find in this book in many ways.
The parable provokes us to think about our multidimensional responsibility. Without neglecting care for oneself, responsibility for the other is central, not only relationally but also socially, and beyond, up to and including ‘small goodness.’ Remarkable is how the Samaritan puts us on the track of the visceral dynamics of that responsibility: “esplagchnistè,” touched to the guts and touchable by the wounded and vulnerable face of the other. This leads to a reinterpretation of fraternity, as Pope Francis also does in his encyclical ‘Fratelli tutti’ from the parable of the Good Samaritan.
In the incarnated responsibility by and for the other, the divine ‘wombness’ also resonates: ‘rakhamim,’ mercy as “gestation of the other in the same,” bearing par excellence.
The wombness of the Holy One inspires a maternal interpretation of Jesus as a unique and historical revelation of the Merciful One. The incarnate wombness of Jesus is also inclusive, in the sense that as the 'new Adam' he embraces the being and calling of every human being, without abolishing the mystery of the ‘God-man.’ Last but not least, thinking beyond the ethical Jesus – and beyond ethics – opens up the perspective on the relationship between responsibility and redemption, guilt and forgiveness, hope and promise.