Neighbours

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

- Luke 10:30-35

As the song says, everybody needs good neighbours. During the pandemic we remembered that we don't live in a bubble, but alongside others who sometimes might need us - or even alongside people who we might need. In the Old Testament - Deuteronomy 6:5 - God instructs his people to love their neighbours as they love themselves.

Hmmm... what does that mean? We can't face the expectation of having to love everyone, everywhere, at all times, and it's quite natural to want to narrow down the category. That's what the lawyer in Luke 10 wants to do. Maybe he is genuinely intrigued as to how Jesus will respond. Maybe he just enjoys the cut and thrust of debate. The text though, suggests another attempt to trap Jesus. He knew, as we know deep down, that there is no perfect answer to the question, "Who is my neighbour?".

But the story Jesus tells in response to the lawyers question changes the focus of attention. It's not about definitions and categories of deserving and underserving, but about the hearts of those that have the power to help. Will they help or won't they? The Priest and the Levite in the story weigh up the pros and cons, and decide that, on balance, it would be inconvenient to get down into the ditch and help this half-dead man. The Samaritan, of course, sees things differently. More importantly, he does differently. 

The issue, in the end, is not how good you are at debating the ethics of this or that scenario, or finely slicing the categories of moral responsibility. It doesn't even matter whether you can fix the problem. The question is, are prepared to do something... anything. Who was they neighbour? The one who helped. Then, Jesus ends the philosophical debate with an abrupt command: go and do likewise.