And who is my neighbor?

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

- Luke 10:25-37

In yesterday's reading, we read that the seventy returned with joy from their mission, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  The lawyer quotes from two sections of the law:  Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.  What we note is that these quotations are all about relationship, to God and to neighbor.  Right relatedness is just or righteous behavior.

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."  Although there was a road from Jerusalem to Jericho, we may dwell on the symbolic value of this story as told by Jesus.  Jerusalem is the place of peace, and is symbolic of the communion with God (related to the two precepts of the law given above).  Jericho, as opposed to Jerusalem, was renowned as a place of sin (see 19:1).  To fall among thieves is a natural consequence of journeying away from God toward a life of sin.  In John 10:10 and elsewhere, Jesus refers to false leaders as thieves.

"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side."  There are two important ways of looking symbolically at the addition of a priest and a Levite to this story.  The first is that titles and positions are meaningless in God's sight if true good work does not accompany them.  My study bible quotes Cyril of Alexandria who writes, "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds."  Secondly, that the priest and the Levite do not help this man is an indication of the failure of the Old Testament Law to heal the consequences of sin.

"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  My study bible says that the Samaritan in the story, while a despised foreigner, is an image of Christ (John 8:48), for He "came down from heaven" (Nicene Creed) to save even those in rebellion against Him.  In addition, the bandages, oil, and wine are sacramental images.  The bandages are like the garment of baptism, which delivers from the wounds of sin.  The oil of chrismation gives new life in the Holy Spirit,  the wine of communion is that of the divine Blood which leads to eternal life.  My study bible also says that His own animal indicates Christ bearing our sins in His own body.  The inn reveals the Church in which Christ's care is received -- and He pays the price for that care (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23). 

So here is the real question:  "Who is my neighbor?"  Jesus answers the question clearly with the elective actions of the Samaritan.  Leaving his own money to help to pay for the care of the man can also be symbolic of prayer, where we may pray even for our nominal enemies.   Elsewhere, Jesus speaks of a type of exchange, in which doing good is like wealth, when He teaches about having "treasure in heaven"  (Matthew 6:20, 19:21).  Our own elective actions and choices in following His word and teachings create this kind of treasure, even when they involve sacrifice on our part.  It is a way of understanding our own capacity to build relationship even where there is none, and thereby build righteousness and 'treasures' (good things) in the world.  It may be paradoxical, but if we get our mind around Christ's teachings, we see His way of thinking:  that we can be 'like God,' creating good where there is no good through our own capacity to choose outside of the box, so to speak -- in accordance with His word.  I think prayer has to be understood in terms of this "good deed" that is possible in all times.  We needn't have wealth or a whole host of capacities to be able to pray for anyone.  What we need is a heart that is moved with mercy, with care, and that is willing to love God and to love neighbor and be 'in communion' this way.  We can give up our enemies to God through prayer, we can pray for strangers, and we can do whatever we can for those in need - particularly for healing of any type.  God gives us the resources to act, even when we despair of resources.  Prayer can lead to inspiration for help we couldn't foresee nor think of immediately, it puts our mind in the right place to be disposed to help heal a situation or persons; it teaches intention and mercy even as we place ourselves in God's mercy for understanding and for compassion.  We are able to create 'good things' and to 'do good' at all times through such relatedness as He teaches, and as the law gives above.  A willing heart is the greatest blessing.  Everything starts from there.