Sergei the Samaritan

And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?

And Jesus answering said, 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,

And 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.

Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?

And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Now is the time for Ukraine to ask, who is the better neighbour? The Frank who disdained to get into a ‘bidding war’ over Ukraine for the association agreement? The Teuton who would not so much as meet with Ukraine’s government? Surely not the thieves in Brussels who wish to strip Ukraine of even more of its wealth, and leave it half dead and wounded on the side of the road? Or is it the Russian who bought up 15 billion dollars of Ukrainian debt and poured in oil and wine to keep it away from default and economic disaster?

Like the Samaritans of Our Lord’s time, the Russians are despised and reviled on the world stage by the global elite and the holders of economic and political power in the West. They are constantly and consistently portrayed in the news media as backwards and mean-spirited, and their government as cynical, grasping and hateful. And yet they continue to care for their elderly and their poor and their young as best they are able with what limited resources they have (including protecting them from perverts and pornographers, in a way which the Anglo-American West has long since abandoned). And now Sergei Lavrov is making the case that economic aid (and let’s be clear: aid is what it is) to the Ukraine is his nation’s Christian duty. Who is the better neighbour to Ukraine?