(Luke 10:25-37)

As we researched for this article, we Googled the words “Good Samaritan” and the request brought us over 281,000 references of the Good Samaritan on the Internet. There were thousands of hospitals and medical centers named Good Samaritan, hundreds of Good Samaritan awards, scores of charitable trust funds named Good Samaritan, and a multitude of newspaper articles on Good Samaritan heroics and helpfulness. But what is the source of all these references?

Let’s take a quick look at the Biblical Good Samaritan story, and then look at it metaphysically, to present the real main character to you. You may want to read the entire story before going with this article. When you’re finished, come on back. We’ll wait for you!

First, we’ll take a look at a few specific verses from Luke 10:25-37, to offer some historical background.

* v27: The legal expert answers easily, reiterating the passages from the Torah (Deut 6:5 and Lev 19:18). He wanted to demonstrate he was a student of the law that he was up on his Torah.

* v29: He desired Jesus’ approval to abide by the letter of the law and to restrict who he considered a neighbor. It would be like asking for permission not to help a member of a hate group who was injured (like a neo-Nazi or a clansman.) The Greek work for neighbor is plesion which is interpreted as “the close one.” It referred to people similar to you in social status, religious faith, ethnicity, etc. The lawyer hoped that’s what Jesus meant.

* v30: In this verse, the phrase “a certain man” derives from the Greek Word anthropostis, which means somebody/anyone. Jesus was not going to give him a way out. The road between Jericho and Jerusalem was dangerous and notorious for bandits. Jericho was below sea level.

* v32: The law was if a person touched a dead body or came into contact with the blood of someone unclean, they would be defiled for seven days and unable to carry out their assigned religious responsibilities.

* v33: The Jews hated the Samaritans. Samaritans were the descendants of those Jews who remained in northern Israel after it was conquered by Assyria in the 8th Century B.C. They were uncircumcised, intermarried Gentiles, and refused to acknowledge the temple in Jerusalem.

* v37: The lawyer probably paused before he responded to Jesus’ question. He, like other Jews, detested the Samaritans so much he was unable to bring himself to say the word Samaritan. He said, “He that showed mercy.” And Jesus responded, “You got that right.” We’re paraphrasing, of course.

For Jesus, there were no untouchables in the Kingdom of God. And the point He wanted to get across to the lawyer – and to us – is to not let our religion take the place of our spirituality or compassion. If the only point of Jesus’ parable had been nothing more than promoting a sense of civility and goodwill, it would have been a good message. But it has a much deeper meaning. Let’s take a metaphysical look, so we can add a higher consciousness perspective to the story.

* Lawyer = our inclination to use the letter of the law to justify our behavior

* Injured Man (the main metaphysical character) = human consciousness; the thoughts, feelings, and actions in all of us

* Jerusalem = Heart-centered consciousness of peace and spirituality

* Jericho = Materially-focused desires which spring from the ego’s fears and selfishness

* Robbers = our selfish, destructive thoughts that deplete our body of its energy and vitality

* Priest and Levite = religious inclinations that fail to see the connection between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law

* Samaritan = the Christ of us

* Oil and wine = oil is love; wine is abundant life

* Inn = pure, receptive Divine thoughts

* Innkeeper = the Holy Spirit

* 2 denarii = the cost to us for reuniting the human personality with Spirit

* Neighbor = our physical body and emotions which are impacted by our thoughts

The metaphysical implications of this parable are quite clear. When we choose to leave the peace and serenity of our spirituality (Jerusalem) and follow the temptations of our material sense consciousness (Jericho), we rob ourselves of our energy and vitality. Our error thinking can take us over dangerous emotional and physical ground, sometimes resulting in life-threatening illnesses.

Our wholeness will return when we build our consciousness (the Inn) and accept the wisdom and support that comes from our inner Divinity, which provides comfort through the Holy Spirit.

So you see the parable is not about the Samaritan at all. It is about us.

* It is about our relationship with the Christ of us.

* It is about our falling in and out of a state of grace.

* It reminds us of our awesome and unfailing connection to Spirit.

* It encourages us to have Christ thoughts so we can make Christ choices.

* And — it assures us that we shall be comforted.

So – what fiery furnace are you living through? What “outward appearance” is attacking your belief system? The good news is each of us has within us the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego qualities that, when strengthened, give us the power to stand solid in Truth in the midst of the fiery furnace, and not merely survive, but thrive!

Of course, the question is, how do I do that? We’d like to share a quick formula, with a very specific “How-To” added as a bonus.

1. Know your Truth! Know that you know that you know the Spiritual Truth of who and what you are. We call this the Abednego quality of spiritual wisdom. It is one thing to recite Truth rhetoric; it is a totally different thing to KNOW and understand it. One of our Truth principles is “There is only one presence and one power in the universe and in my life and affairs: God the good, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.” We say it – but do we really understand the implications of it? Whenever we give power to outer appearances of lack, or jealousy, or anger, or fear, or health challenges, we are creating a rift between ourselves and the Truth of who we are.

I am reminded of children reciting the Lord’s Prayer. These are things that I have really heard! One child believed God’s name was Harold, because he always said, “Our Father who art in Heaven, Harold be thy name!”

Another contemporized the prayer by saying, “Leave us not in temptation, but deliver us some email!”

In our perception of the Truth principles, we encourage you to move beyond just saying Truth, and grow in your understanding so Truth becomes a part of your consciousness and manifests in your reality.

2. Recognize the LINT (Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking) and catch it as quickly as possible! How important is that? Consider a beautiful black wool suit, with one little teeny piece of lint. Where do your eyes go immediately? To the lint! It is identical in our consciousness.

Allow us to share the Parable of the LINT (not from the Bible) – from the Holton household we were facilitating a Prosperity class at another church, and were staying in church member’s home. We shared a nice breakfast in the sun room before leaving for the church. When we got to the church parking lot, we realized that Bil’s suit was covered with long white cat hairs! We had not even been aware of it before!

Now let’s stretch the metaphor – we are often in the midst of LINT (Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking). When we fail to recognize the source of it, it connects to us and becomes part of our consciousness and experience.

You become aware of the LINT by the way you are feeling (agitated, irritable, frustrated, stressed); by what you are saying (negative focus, self critical); and/or by what is manifesting in your life. As soon as you spot it, do the GAP assessment (Here’s that specific “How-To” we promised at the beginning of this article):

* Guilt-free, go from where you are. * Acknowledge the separation * Pray and meditate to close the gap and reconnect with Spirit.

3. Transform the LINT: Emerge from your prayer and meditation, ready to practice Truth principles in your life. Be proactive in living the Truth as you face the world of appearances, and look for ways to see things from a new perspective.

A good example of this is Cesar Lopez, a musician and composer from Bogota, Columbia. In USA Today, 04/19/06, you can read about how he created the escopetarra: an electric guitar he designs from shotguns collected by the police from scenes of violent crimes. One quote says, “the weapon is still present, but when you strike the first chord, everything that is violent about it disappears. That’s the kind of transformation we would like to see in our country.”

So-as you identify the LINT in your life – Listless Impoverished Negative Thinking -that separates you from the Truth of who you are, perform the GAP assessment. Then you can use your power to transform the LINT into a life of joy, prosperity, and unbelievable spiritual wisdom.

We all have the same life purpose: We are here to fully demonstrate the Christ within.

We have all got the same decision to make: We can choose to accept our Divinity and follow the guidance that comes from our Christ Consciousness — or not.

There is only one story in the Bible: That story is about how we use, more won’t power than will power when it comes to “expressing our divinity.”

The following story is an example of that on-and-off-again relationship. The story comes from the 8th Chapter of John’s Gospel, verses 2-11:

2. Early in the morning He came again to the temple: (When we are centered in Spirit, we begin each day connected to our Christ Nature. Jesus represents that aspect in us that understands our Christ potential and is our unfolding pattern of perfection.) All the people came to him and he sat down and began to teach them: (The more we intentionally “practice the Presence,” the more Divine wisdom we will receive.)

3. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand before all of them: (Our judgmentalness. which many times is really hypocrisy, is represented by the Pharisees. It tries to keep us stuck in the letter of the law so we remain in the tight box of dogma and doctrine. The personality attempts to discredit our receptivity to Truth principles, represented by the woman, by signaling out our failures.)

4. They said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery: (Guarded by its self-righteousness duplicity, our ego even manufactures ways to make us feel less spiritual, while at the same time hypocritically hiding behind its own shortcomings.)

5. Now in the law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6. They said this to test Him, so that they might have some charge to bring against Him: (The adult Moses represents that within us that aligns more with the letter of the law instead of the spirit of the law. Our critical nature tests our spiritual growth because it wants us to adhere to the status quo.)

6. Jesus bent down and wrote with His finger on the sand. (Jesus’ act symbolizes our Christ Self lowering itself into our sense chakra to purify it. We re-awaken to the realization that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.)

7. When they continued questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to cast a stone at her.” (We remind ourselves that our old tapes have no power over us.)

8. And once again He bent down and wrote on the ground: (Our ‘I Am’ Consciousness lowers Itself again to strengthen us and to lead us into a right relationship with our Christ Nature.)

9. When they heard it, they went away, one by one, beginning with the elders: (When the Spirit moves, its incredible vibration dissolves even the strongest, most encrusted beliefs, assumptions and prejudices, causing them to lose their impact and disappear.) And Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before Him: (Once we put the noise of our judgmentalness aside we stand firm in our awareness of our true nature).

10. Jesus straightened up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”: (When we permit that still, small voice to direct us, we have power over any and all negativity).

11. She said, “No one, Sir.”: (We can say emphatically, through affirmations and denials, that nothing can separate us from our good). And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you. Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”: (Our Christ nature sees only the good in us. Once we become consciously one with our God-Self, by going to Headquarters, we will hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil. All we need to do is use more will power than won’t power so we do not miss the mark.)

This story is about you and us and everyone on the planet. It reminds us to remember the Truth of who we really are, so we can demonstrate and enjoy our innate Divinity, the Godness that is present at our birth.

There is a great story that demonstrates the advice Jesus gave His followers when He sent them out to tell people the good news – the news that the Kingdom of God is within. It is about a struggle between the Wind and the Sun, about who was the strongest. The Wind thought he was stronger because of his destructive might in tornadoes, hurricanes, sand storms, and thunder storms. He pointed out his ability to transform a simple cigarette or lightning strike into a raging forest fire which could level hundreds of thousands of acres of woods.

There was not a day that went by without the Wind bragging of his power. The Sun grew tired of the Wind’s arrogance and planned to settle the matter once and for all. He challenged the Wind to a contest.

“Look, you old wind bag,” bragged the Sun, “I’m going to prove you are not as powerful or influential as you think you are.”

“Oh, you are, are you? Just how do you plan to do that?” taunted the Wind.

“See that old Truth Student down there taking a walk?”

The Wind whisked himself around to get a closer look. The Wind smiled his pleasure and delivered a taunting gust of wind to knock the Truth Student off balance.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Yes, I observe him. Kinda wimpy isn’t he? Surely you can find a better subject than that pathetic old Truth Seeker!”

The Sun’s voice did not waiver as he leveled his dare. “I dare you to blow the Student’s coat off his back.”

“Ha! You’re making this much too easy. In a short while,” he boasted, “I shall rule Heaven and Earth.”

He started to to blow, gently at first, to confuse the Truth Seeker. To his amazement, the believer clung to his jacket. The Wind blew harder, sending the man ricocheting to and fro across the avenue – but the elderly Truth student clutched his coat even tighter! The harder the Wind blew, the more the man resisted.

The Truth Student’s strength angered the Wind, so he blew huge gusts of wind, which pushed the man into parked vehicles and against the sides of buildings. But the man would not let go of his jacket. Another fierce gust of wind blew the man’s hat off and knocked him to the ground, but the man clung to his coat even harder.

At last, the Wind gave up and dared the Sun to succeed where he had failed.

The Sun grinned and sent radiant rays of warmth upon the Truth Student. The gentleman stood up and brushed off his coat and slacks, grateful for the change in the weather. In a short while, he began to respond to the heat. Beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead and neck.

The sun sent even more radiant light and warmth upon the Truth Seeker who first unzipped his jacket and finally removed it.

The Sun’s “soft sell” approach was much more persuasive, wouldn’t you say? The Wind’s agenda was to blow the coat off the man against his will. The Wind had mixed up loving invitation with harsh influence.

The Sun, on the other hand, understood the essence of tactful influence and that the greatest kind of persuasion is showing warmth, gentleness, and understanding through letting its light shine – instead of intimidation, force, judgmentalness, or shame.

The Sun applied the same secret Jesus understood when He warned His disciples not to force Truth principles on others. He encouraged a soft metaphysical approach. The message is in three of the four Gospels, so it is an important teaching. It appears in Matt. 10:7;10-14; Mark 6: 7-11; and Luke 9: 1-5.

The literal translation is fairly straightforward. Reveal the Truth with those who are open to hear it. If you meet with resistance or disinterest, don’t force the issue. Shake the dust off your feet and non-judgmentally continue your Truth walk.

Metaphysically, this passage is rich in timeless wisdom. I’ll explain the key words and concepts first and then offer a metaphysical interpretation:

Jesus: that within us which recognizes and conscientiously works to fulfill our Christ Potential

Kingdom of Heaven: Christ Consciousness

Twelve disciples: the twelve higher consciousness powers within us

Town or village: a group of accepted attitudes, a belief system, a particular point of view, socially accepted behaviors

House: individual human consciousness

Shake the dust off your feet: denying the power of the shallowness of materialism or the unhealthy magnetism of outer appearances to cloud our spiritual understanding

Metaphysically, there are three valuable lessons with a spiritual meaning:

1.As we apply our growing awareness of Truth principles (the 12 powers, represented by the 12 disciples, which are strengthened by our (I Am-ness) to our existing beliefs and habitual ways of thinking, we will meet with some internal struggles. It is natural to feel some inner fighting whenever we are expanding our spiritual awareness.

2.Some of our beliefs will be easy to change. Others may take a while. Be patient with yourself as you refocus your thinking to the new, greater spiritual Truth.

3.When we encounter resistant thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs, we must deny the power of materialistic inclinations to distort our understanding (shake the dust from our feet) and keep walking the spiritual path on practical feet.

I can count the times I joined my dad on a fishing expedition on one hand, actually on three fingers. But those three fishing experiences were memorable indeed! I was an inquisitive seven-year-old and was ecstatic about going fishing with my dad.

Each time I tossed out the line, I caught something — and my lines never even hit the water. On my first attempt, I hooked my father’s favorite outdoor cap, pulling it unceremoniously off his head. I remember his initial irritation turning to laughter as he helped me reel his hat in. I also remember how the wet hat looked on his head. He refused to fish without it.

On our second fishing trip, I hooked the back of my shirt — twice! I did manage to catch several fish. It wasn’t many. I remember they were little, and I learned how to talk fisherman’s talk. I discovered what is meant by ‘catch and release.’ If the fish are too small, you throw them back!

I’d catch a tiny cat fish or snag a turtle and look at my father and ask, ‘Release?’ And he’d nod his decision. When it came to fishing, I was not giving Dad much to celebrate.

On my third and final fishing expedition with Dad, I snagged his left ear lobe. I didn’t do it on purpose! But I hooked it good! I didn’t need to ask about ‘catch and release’ that time. I remember thinking, “Holy mackerel, is he going to toss me overboard?”

When I look back on those fishing fiascos with my dad, I realized that our time together was the valuable thing. After I ‘hooked and released’ I preferred to immerse myself in a book, take/jot down notes, and compose something of my own while Dad fished. I didn’t realize it then, but those initial writing projects were the beginning of my writing career.

My father liked to catch fish — and I liked to catch ideas. Later I learned they’re the same thing. I also discovered that most fishermen catch their best fish by the tale — TALE — and I learned nothing grows as fast as a fish from the time it bites until it slips away.

I have another fish story for you. It comes from the Gospel of John — John 21:1-6. But it’s more than just a fish story. It’s about how the brain works.

If you take this story at face value, seven fishermen took the advice of a person who never fished in the pond, so to speak. Obviously, there is more to the story than meets the eye. Metaphysically, this story has much to teach us:

There are seven disciples mentioned: Simon Peter (faith), John (love), Thomas (understanding), Nathaniel — who is the same as Bartholomew — (imagination), James, son of Jebedee (wisdom), and two more anonymous disciples who were most likely Simon, the Cananaean (Zeal), and James, son of Alphaeus (order). These seven disciples symbolize the spiritual qualities which assist us in manifesting ideas.

Sea of Tiberias = the spiritual insights we can gain when we apply our spiritual powers

Fish = Divine ideas. (In verse 11 it says the disciples caught 153 large fish — which they did not ‘catch and release’ — 153 stands for the number of known species of fish at the time of this Gospel story. When we connect with Spirit, we have access to an inexhaustible supply of ideas)

Net = Our mind, which catches ideas

Fishing at night from the left side of the boat = literally means we are fishing in the dark if we try to comprehend spiritual truths from a left-brained material awareness

Right Side = Always indicates the side of truth. It also represents the right side of our brain, our intuitive side, our creativity.

So, when we work out of our sense consciousness (Fish at night), we find ourselves working like crazy, but end up empty. However, when we connect with Spirit and practice truth principles (fish from the right side of the boat), we can tap into an inexhaustible supply of Divine Ideas which bring us the prosperity, peace and joy we want.

Holy mackerel! All we need to do is harmonize both sides of our brain to catch Divine Ideas. It just takes using a little bit of our “net” worth.

We love the Biblical story of Jesus feeding the multitudes because it is so motivational! It contains the formula for continuous prosperity. Jesus shares it so clearly –step by step! It’s as simple as A–B–C!

Writing about prosperity always reminds us of Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert cartoon. We saw an interview with him in Fast Company magazine, where he said that his business plan was simple: to make more than I spend! Now, there’s a practical, no nonsense prosperity plan!

As you vision your prosperity plan, here’s the formula to guarantee continuous prosperity flowing in your life:

A: Acknowledge: Acknowledge your abilities, not your weaknesses!

When we get into difficulty, it is so easy to focus on limitation — on the proverbial problem. But Jesus demonstrated that it is more important to focus on the opportunities. The disciples were centered on the issue of feeding 5,000-25,000 people. But Jesus said, “Let’s provide them something to eat!” In the Gospel of Mark, He asks: “How many loaves do you have?” He is demonstrating the need to focus on what we have. He is asking the disciples to imagine what CAN be done, rather than on what can’t be accomplished.

Keep yourself in the frame of consciousness of always being centered on potential rather than the problem. One way is to create Attitude of Gratitude Lists, at the point of a frustrating situation. On this list, you can pinpoint specific things for which you are appreciative. This literally shifts your consciousness into a more positive frame of reference.

B: Bless: Bless what you have.

The first thing Jesus did was bless the loaves and fish that were available. It wasn’t a begging prayer — like ‘Oh, God, make this stretch to feed all these people!’ It was a prayer of thanksgiving. He knew there was abundance, because He knew the principle of Mind Action.

C: Claim: Claim and share your prosperity!

It is important to move your feet — step out on faith, knowing our prosperity is manifesting. Jesus handed the bread and fish to the disciples and told them to distribute it. The small amount of bread and fish must have appeared kind of puny — and perhaps the disciples thought Jesus had lost it! But they followed His instruction! And not only was everyone fed, there were twelve baskets of leftovers!

So, never see mountains of limitation. Instead see peaks of potential. And don’t ever, ever, ever confuse your net worth with your self worth.