Loving Your Neighbor as YourselfНамуна

Who is my neighbor?

Today’s Scripture portion is about a question arising from Jesus’ command to love our neighbor. The text explicitly says that the questioner asks this to justify himself, but the same question can arise in us if we honestly want to obey God’s commandment: Whom should I love? Who is my neighbor?

The parable that Jesus tells, makes immediately clear that our ‘neighbor’ is not limited to the person living next door, or to our family members and friends. Moreover, ‘loving’ appears not to be limited to friendly chats or warm feelings. ‘Loving your neighbor’ can be really challenging.

The Samaritan in the parable was a non-Jew. That fact alone would have been enough reason not to help the robbed man, since Samaritans and Jews generally despised and avoided each other. But this man is a positive exception. He takes care of somebody in need with whom he normally would not have any relationship. That went way beyond his comfort zone.  

And that’s exactly what Jesus calls ‘loving your neighbor’. His conclusion is clear: “You go, and do likewise”.

We should not just care for people we like and have close relationships with, but for everybody in need who crosses our path. We should not just love the people we like best, but everybody around us who needs help.  

That’s a huge challenge! Ask for God’s help and guidance as you try to obey this command.