by Keith Needham

Created on: August 24, 2009

The dialogue is famous, forever enshrined in history. "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered, "What sayeth the law?" The lawyer answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, with all your mind; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus agreed, "Do this," He said, "and you will live."

"But he, wanting to justify himself, asked Jesus, 'Who is my neighbor?'" And Jesus set forth this story: A man fell among the theives who beat him and stripped off his clothing. As he lay bleeding, his fellow men wouldn't help him, not even the religious ones. The priest and the Levite both passed by on the other side. Then, a despised Samaritan came along. This was the half-breed, the repulsive one, the one despised and rejected. Yet, "when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, set him on his own animal, brought him to the inn, and took care of him," ensuring that it was done; and he also picked up the tab. It is a story of compassion, of mercy, of the staggering equality of humanity. Who was the neighbor? "The one who had compassion and mercy." Jesus said, "Go and do likewise!" And we sit here scratching our heads, trying to figure out what it means.

Yet, its meaning is actually quite simple. Show mercy and compassion upon everyone you see in need. It doesn't matter who they are. It doesn't matter about their social status. It doesn't matter if they are dirty or clean, good looking or rather pathetic. Help them! Love them! They are cut out of the same cloth as you! You are no better than they; so have mercy. Be kind. Love to the same degree that you love yourself.

The Apostle Paul speaks of this kind of love when he sets forth how men take care of themselves. "No man ever hated his own flesh; but he nourishes it and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the Church" (see Ephesians 5:29). This is how we love ourselves. We take care of ourselves, we make sure we are fed. We make sure we have a place to live, we make sure that our needs are cared for to the best extent that we can. We even indulge ourselves a bit, giving ourselves ice cream or a steak! When we believe we have earned something by working hard, we spoil ourselves, treating ourselves to a new TV, or perhaps even to a new car.

The command is that we love our neighbor like that. We take care of him, we feed him (if that is what he needs). We house him,

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>