“Who Is My Neighbor?”
“A legal expert stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to gain eternal life?’ Jesus replied, ‘What is written in the Law? How do you interpret it?’ He responded, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.’ But the legal expert wanted to prove that he was right, so he said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor? (Luke 10:25-29, CEB)

So Jesus told a story. A man was travelling the 15 or so miles from Jerusalem to Jericho on a road that skirted Judea and Samaria. On the way he was mugged by thieves who left him naked, beaten, and nearly dead. Just after the attack a priest passed on the road. He noticed the crime victim, crossed the road to avoid him, and went on his way. Shortly after that a Levite, one who assisted the priest in the temple, happened by. He, too, noticed the seriously injured man, avoided him by walking to the other side of the road, and continued on his way. Not long after the Levite, a Samaritan came by the spot of the attack. He saw the wounded man, went to him, and bandaged his injuries. He put him on his own donkey and took him to the nearest inn where he secured him a room, told the innkeeper to buy whatever he needed for the gentleman, and he would reimburse him on his return journey.

And Jesus said: “What do you think? Which one of these three was a neighbor to the man who encountered thieves?" Then the legal expert said, "The one who demonstrated mercy toward him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (Luke 10:36-37, CEB)

As James Simpson said in Sojourners magazine (8-12-2016): let’s be clear that “a) in the time of Jesus, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho is notoriously dangerous, b) the route from Jerusalem to Jericho skirts along the borders of Judea and Samaria, and c) Judeans hated Samaritans.” This is a story about the outcast taking care of the wounded. Think about this in the context of our discussion of hospitality over the last couple of weeks. Hospitality is about caring for those on society’s margins, the most wounded, those who are unlike us, not just about being kind to those who think, look, and behave like us.

In our world today we are confronted almost daily with the question of the legal expert to Jesus: who is my neighbor? In Jesus’ story a hated Samaritan, not a religious leader, is the one who shows compassion and mercy, thus demonstrating true hospitality. The Samaritan’s demonstration of mercy toward the badly wounded stranger was the criteria that Jesus held as critical. Where would you have been on the road that day? Who is your enemy? Are you able to show mercy and compassion to that person or group? Christina Pohl offers a poignant reminder:

The practice of hospitality forces abstract commitments to loving the neighbor, stranger, and enemy into practical and personal expressions of respect and care for actual neighbors, strangers, and enemies." (75, Making Room)

In the coming week meditate on how you can show mercy and compassion to those who are strangers to you or that you consider enemies; and how you can expand your definition of “neighbor” to include all of God’s creation.