Who is My Neighbor?

"Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law." - Romans 13:8-10

The phrase "love your neighbor" is a frequent refrain in the Bible. Many may not realize that Jesus was quoting the Old Testament when He told people to love their neighbor. Here, Paul is quoting Jesus. Was Paul there when Jesus said all the law and prophets are summed up in this command (Matthew 22:37-40)? The gospels were likely not yet written at the time he wrote his letter to the Romans. If he wasn't there, did someone tell him about it? Or did Jesus reveal these words to Paul directly? We don't really know.

When Jesus taught the people to love their neighbor, they wanted to know - Who is my neighbor?

I can't help but feel as though we are asking the same question today - Who is my neighbor?

Christians are answering the question in different ways: Only full blood born in the U.S.A. Americans are my neighbors. Or, only White people are my neighbors. Or, only straight people are my neighbors. Or, in some cases, only men are my neighbors.

At least, it seems as though this is how Christians are answering the question. Otherwise, wouldn't they act in more loving ways towards others? Towards the poor, the oppressed, and the least of these? At the minimum, wouldn't they advocate for protections for others, like the immigrant, the Palestinian child, or the single mother, rather than being silent or cheering when they are harmed and their rights and services are being taken away?

That's not love, after all.

So, maybe there are two questions. Who is my neighbor? And, what does it mean to love them?

When Jesus was asked the first question, in typical Jesus-fashion, He answered with a parable. The Parable of the Good Samaritan is perhaps one of Jesus’s most famous parables. To recap, Jesus talks about a man who’s traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. Many Jews went to Jerusalem to worship at the temple, so, likely, this man was heading home. In the first century, the road between Jerusalem and Jericho was about eighteen miles long. Most people back then traveled on foot or on a donkey. It would have taken all day to make the journey.

This man is somewhere along the way when he is attacked by robbers. They steal his belongings and his clothing, beat him severely, and leave him with nothing in a ditch on the side of the road. A short while later, a priest from the temple walks by, sees the man, and does nothing. Then a Levite - also a worker in the temple - passes by, sees him, and does nothing. These two men were the hurt man's countrymen. Members of the same temple. Yet they ignored his needs, not wanting to get their hands dirty or perhaps being too busy to stop.

Finally, a man identified only as a Samaritan goes by. Samaritan was an ethnic identity. Interesting that the other two were identified by their position, but this man is identified only by his ethnicity. We don’t know if he’s a rich man or a poor man. A man of means or a man of nothing. But he stops. He sees the man on the side of the road, and he stops to helps him.

The Samaritans were outcasts from Jewish society because they believed just a little bit differently than the Jewish people, and they didn’t adhere to all the same laws. The Jews were not to associate with the Samaritans. That was a law that they made, note, not a law God had given them. If the roles were reversed, and a Samaritan had been lying on the side of the road, it is unlikely that a Jewish person would’ve stopped to help them.

It should also be noted that per Jewish Law, this Samaritan man who helped the injured man would have touched his blood, making himself ceremonially unclean. He was traveling on his way somewhere, and yet he took time out of his busy schedule to go out of his way to help this stranger, and even to spend his own resources and money.

When Jesus asked his listeners, Who was a neighbor to the man who was robbed? They answered correctly, The one who had mercy on him. Jesus says, "Go and do likewise."

Go and do likewise.

Have mercy. Show mercy. Be merciful.

Consider Micah 6:8, "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

I think about the one who was robbed. What does he symbolize in the story? Does he perhaps symbolize the poor, the vulnerable, and the oppressed? All those who life has beaten down, who have been broken by unjust systems, who have been robbed by the rich?

The religious may want to walk right on by them, thanking their "good fortune" it wasn’t them and pretending like they aren't even there. They don't want to get their hands dirty or they are simply too busy. Or, maybe, they blame the victim, thinking it's their fault. They did something to "deserve" what they got.

The Samaritan is the least expected hero of the story. He is the one that is praised by Jesus. He’s the one who gives up his time, his resources, his money, and his compassion, to help a stranger. A stranger deeply in need of help. He wasn’t someone from the same town, because Jews and Samaritans didn’t live together. He may not have even been from the same region or the same country. But he showed mercy. And that is what Jesus said we are to do.

We are called to show mercy. Not just to the people in our literal neighborhood. Not just to the people in our church community. Not just to Christians. Not just to American-born citizens or White people or men. But even to the least of these. To any and everyone who has been beaten down, left behind, sidelined, or impoverished.

So, what does it mean to love our neighbor? Love your neighbor as you love yourself. Want for your neighbor what you want for yourself and for your family. Fight for your neighbor to have what you have, or what you want to have. What might that be? Love. Faith. Safety. Stability. Opportunity. Justice. Freedom.

Matthew 7:12 says to treat others as you would have them treat you. Matthew 25 goes even further, saying that what we do for the least of these we do to Christ Himself.

The way we treat the poor, is the way we treat Christ. The way we treat marginalized people groups, is the way we treat Christ. The way we treat foreigners, is the way we treat Christ. The way we treat women, is the way we treat Christ.

Are you treating Christ with the respect and dignity He deserves?

That’s what Samaritan did.

That’s what we are called to.

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