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 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 

 

Yesterday we read that the seventy apostles Christ appointed 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 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."   In St. Matthew's Gospel, Jesus is asked, "What is the greatest commandment in the Law?"  He responds with a teaching of these two commandments spoken here in today's reading, adding that on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets (see Matthew 22:36-40).  In today's reading, Jesus says, "Do this and you will live."  See also Ezekiel 18:19-32 from today's reading for another context to Christ's words, "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."  My study Bible explains here that Jerusalem is the place of peace, symbolic of communion with God.  Jericho, on the other hand, was notorious as a place of sin (see Luke 19:1).  To fall among thieves, it says, speaks to the natural consequences of journeying away from God toward a life of sin (see John 10:10).  

 

"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."  My study Bible comments that titles and positions are meaningless in God's sight when good deeds do not accompany them.   It cites St. Cyril of Alexandria, who writes, "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds."  Moreover, that the priest and the Levite do not help the man also indicates 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."  My study Bible notes that this Samaritan is a despised foreigner, and at the same time in this story he is an image of Christ (John 8:48), for Christ "came down from heaven" (the Creed) to save even those in rebellion against Him.  

 

"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 comments that the bandages, oil, and wine are sacramental images.  The bandages suggest the garment of baptism, which delivers us from the wounds of sin.  The oil stands in for the oil of chrismation, which gives us new life in the Holy Spirit.  The wine tells us of the communion of Christ's divine Blood, which leads to eternal life.  That the Samaritan set the man on his own animal suggests Christ who bears our sins in His own body.  Finally, the inn is the Church in which Christ's care is received.  Jesus Himself pays the price for that care (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23).  

 

Today's lectionary reading (as indicated in commentary above) also includes a passage from Ezekiel in which God expresses the ways in which people shall live and not die; each is responsible for his or her own sins; if a sinful person turns to righteousness they shall live -- and if a righteous person turns to sin he or she will not (Ezekiel 18:1-4; 19-32).  Today Jesus gives us the two commandments on which "hang all the Law and the Prophets," which are found at Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.  The lawyer, then, asks what might be considered a clever question, "And who is my neighbor?"  Jesus' answer is to tell the parable of the Good Samaritan, in which we come to understand that to be a neighbor is to practice something, to do something -- and that is to live a life following Christ, one of compassion.    In the Epistle of St. James, he writes extensively about faith and works, and how they go hand in hand (see James 2:14-26).  There should not be one without the other; neither can save alone.  When he writes that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:26), he is telling us that we need to live our faith, not simply believe but fail to practice what our faith teaches.  Jesus expresses the same when He points to His spiritual family of mother and brothers:  "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it."  (See this reading.)   The story of the Good Samaritan in today's reading is an even more explicit and frankly, brilliant, illustration of what it means to live our faith, for it not only touches on the active compassion of the Samaritan, but it even tells us that what it means to be a neighbor is similar to what it takes to be mother or brother or sister to Christ.  It means living our faith, hearing and doing.  Not either one alone, but both, together.  Hearing the word, and doing it; receiving it into our hearts, and living it.  This is where Christ asks us to be in our lives, a living embodiment of the word He teaches, which He receives from the Father.  So much so, that we not only become faithful, but we become a neighbor.  Jesus tells the lawyer, "Go and do likewise."  Let us note that the Samaritan in our parable shows compassion to one who fell among thieves, who strays and is hurt on the wrong path in life.  So should we understand what it is to help those in need of our help, and welcome them back to the inn of our Lord.  For today's parable not only teaches us about being a neighbor, but also that the nature of our Church is to be a hospital, caring for those who need its compassion and active love.  Perhaps it is here we should note that this beautiful parable is found only in the Gospel of St. Luke, who is known also to us in the Church as the "beloved physician."