Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.”
Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Very often, when joining in a religious fellowship, people ask, “What is the minimum I have to do?” They might wonder how many meetings they have to attend, how much are the monthly and annual dues, do I have to wear a uniform, what do I have to learn or study, and so forth.
That seems to be the gist of the scholar’s question in today’s gospel, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He was apparently not prepared for Jesus’s answer, which amounts to “Everything you are, have, and expect; and then some!”
And so he decides to parse Jesus’s response with another question, “Who is my neighbor?” Presumably your neighbor is not of your own family or kin. Are they fellow citizens in this town, fellow coreligionists? Does neighbors include aliens, pagans, and atheists? What about enemies?
Jesus’s answer is a story, something easy to understand and entirely familiar, about a hapless victim of highway robbers. Any decent human being would offer to help.
There is, however, an unexpected twist, a curious reversal of roles. The one who does the neighborly act, who will inherit eternal life, is not a Jew. He is a despised alien! And the neighbor in this story is you, in the role of victim.
If you were the victim, wouldn’t you expect someone to do the right thing and care for you? Even if you are not kin and have no claim on their kindness? And even if there is a tradition of hostility between your people and theirs?
All the familiar rules of society – the suspicion, the distancing from, and the freedom from obligation to strangers – are off when I need help. But they still apply when someone else needs help? I don’t think so.
The scholar had no choice but to answer wisely when Jesus challenged him, “Which was a neighbor to the robber’s victim?” Perhaps he could not bring himself to say, “The Samaritan;” but he had to admit, “…the one who treated him with mercy.”
Then Jesus drove home his teaching about the Love of God and neighbor, “Go and do likewise.”
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.