WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
"Who is my neighbor?" For Christians in America today, this a critical question for us to ask ourselves, amidst the present climate of social upheaval in our nation. After an extremely divisive election season which culminated in a President Elect that is, lets just say, a bit of a polarizing figure; we are left with a level of partisan bickering, violent protests and even riots, racial unrest, cultural disunity, and revolutionary rumblings that we haven't seen since the late 1960's. It appears that our house is certainly a divided one, but some neighborly love could go a long way to repairing this division.
One story from the Bible that seems to resonate with both sacred and secular alike, is the parable that Jesus taught concerning, 'The Good Samaritan'. So well known is this story, that we even have laws named after it that govern its application in our modern society. The Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day, who make up some of the characters within the story, excelled in promoting themselves as being righteous, holy, and above reproach, and they cleverly created an entire system of self-righteous rules and regulations, that would allow them to do just that.
The story begins with one of these lawyers having a conversation with Jesus, who was seeking to justify not only himself, but also this system of righteousness that he and his colleagues staunchly advocated. The problems really began when Jesus affirmed the scriptural command to, "love our neighbor as ourselves". But for this scribe who excelled in redefining what God really meant to say in His word, he felt the need to redirect the discussion of who his neighbor was, in relationship to the group of lawyers and scribes to which he belonged, and to the system of righteousness which they had erected.
His question to Jesus initially, was aimed at discerning how one might inherit eternal life; to which Jesus replied with His own question, “What is written in the law? (Luke 10:26)” It was at this point that the lawyer began to apply his deceptive trade, by quoting from the Torah, and then parsing its truth, in order to fit his own agenda. Jesus saw right through this façade, as He does in every case, and responded with this wonderful parable that reveals the true heart of His Father, and the Spirit of the law that He gave. Jesus brilliantly portrays the hated and culturally inferior Samaritan man in the story, as the hero by revealing that it was he alone that had shown mercy to the weary stranger, who had been beaten and left for dead. Those who should have helped him, played the role of the pharisaical hypocrite, and chose rather to cross over to the other side of the street, in order to avoid defiling themselves.
Consequently, even this law expert was forced to admit that the truly loving neighbor was not the self-righteous priest or Levite, but the stranger from the north who had, "...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. ...took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.' (Luke 10:34-35)" In a truly compelling display of Christ’s profound understanding of Scripture, and also of the wicked human heart; rather than telling the lawyer who his neighbor was or defining what type of person would or would not be considered his neighbor, and thereby delineating who he would be required to help, Jesus demanded that he be concerned with, “…being a [loving] neighbor to others-whomever they may be. (Watkins 62)”
Not only did the lawyer get the picture, but we also are forced to accept that this applies to us as well, as God’s great commandment of loving our neighbor as ourselves comes into full view, as an instruction to love, “…the person who needs help, regardless of who he or she is in relation to oneself. (Watkins 63)” Just in case we miss this, Jesus gave, “…an imperative command: "Go and do likewise" (Watkins 63)”, to which we must faithfully consider if we are to call ourselves true disciples of Jesus Christ. Who is your neighbor?
By Pastor Glen Mustian
Works Cited:
NKJV New King James Version. Holy Bible. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, TN: 2000. Print.
Watkins, Darrel. Christian Social Ministry. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1994.
