Loving your neighbour is so important

WHEN LOVE HAS REAL MEANING

Lk. 10: 25-37

The parable of the Good Samaritan is as modem as any story you are likely to read in a daily newspaper.  It is a story about violent crime, about a man who was beaten, robbed and left beside the road half dead.  It is about people's reluctance to get involved.  It is also a story about that rare and wonderful individual who sees a need and does whatever is necessary in order to meet it.

The story is Our Lord's interpretation of an ancient Jewish law written in the book of Leviticus 15:18.  It says, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself."   We are familiar with that command and agree that it is a beautiful concept, but rarely ever go beyond that.  Suppose we truly loved our neighbours as ourselves. Where and how would we start?  We would have to define the word "neighbour" who we love as we love ourselves.  Jesus told this story in response to that very question. 

It was a hotly debated question that day.  The Jews did not consider gentiles as neighbours.  They were strangers and foreigners who did not belong with the covenant people of Israel.

Greeks were regarded as barbarians with similar contempt. Rome had one set of laws for its citizens and another for its subjects.  The world was deeply divided by racial, religious, social and cultural boundaries.  Jesus would have no part in that.  With one simple story he broke down all boundaries and erased all the lines that separated people from people.  Who was that man who travelled from Jerusalem to Jericho?  What was his race?  His religion?  His social standing?  His culture?

It is commonly assumed that the man who made this journey was a Jew since his journey began in Jerusalem.  The fact is that Jesus did not identify the man at all, except by gender.  The reason He did that was to make the story believable.  No woman would have travelled that dangerous road alone.  In the eyes of Jesus, that lone traveller was simply "a man."  As to race, he could have been a Jew or gentile.  As to religion, he could have been a faithful worshipper of Jehovah God, or an idolater, or an atheist.  As to character, he could have been virtuous or evil.  Jesus left all such questions unanswered, because, in His mind, none of them was a factor.  All that mattered to Him was the fact that a human being lay wounded beside the road and needed help.  Two men came by and saw him there, but made no attempt whatsoever to render aid. 

Looking back across the centuries, the conduct of that priest and Levite seem utterly reprehensible, almost unbelievable.  How could two people, especially religious people, be so callous and inhumane?  But when we bring it closer to home, when we view it in the light of our own experience, then it is a different matter.  Can any of us be absolutely sure that we never have and never will behave as they did? 

Surely, they weren't wicked men, completely devoid of human compassion?  Perhaps they were busy with other worthwhile work?  Perhaps they feared for their own safety?  Those same robbers may have been lurking nearby, waiting for their next victim.  Besides, how could they be sure that the man himself was not a thief, who had simply been outsmarted and overpowered by other ruffians.  The man himself may have faked the accident and was ready to molest and rob anyone who came to investigate or help.  There were a dozen good reasons for not getting involved.  There always have been and always will be.  It is a risky business really to get involved in human need.  You could be deceived and made to look a fool. You could end up wasting your time and effort. You could even get hurt!

No doubt, the Samaritan recognised all of those possibilities.  Still he took the risk of becoming personally involved. He gave his own time.  He dressed the man's wounds with his own hands. He transported him on his own beast.  He paid for his lodging and care with his own money.  In fact, he did for that man what he would have wanted someone to do for him, if he lay wounded beside the road.

Whether that Samaritan knew the Jewish law or not is an open question that, at least in this instance, he loved his neighbour as himself.  Love to him had real meaning.  It meant taking risks, giving time, spending money, and rendering service.  He may have given to charities.  He may have sat on committees and planned relief efforts.  Both of those would have been good, but for all that he would not be remembered as 'The Good Samaritan.'  We call him by that name, because he knew how to love in a practical and personal way. 

What has all of this got to do with us?  Most of us have never seen a wounded man lying beside a road, and probably never will.  If we wait for that specific event the chance is, we will never discover the real meaning of love. What we must do is open our eyes to those people whose wounds are less dramatic, but no less real.  We walk right past them every day.  Some are wounded by loneliness, some by fear, some by guilt.  Some have been beaten and robbed by economic circumstances beyond their control.  They may live next door, or across town, or even under our own roof.  Wherever they live, whoever they are, and whatever their need might be, Jesus described them as neighbours. 

Lord Jesus, by this story You have told us You have placed upon every one of us the responsibility to love our neighbour in need, just as we love ourselves.  May our response be just as generous as that of the 'Good Samaritan'.

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