There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”
But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead. A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side. But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight. He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn, and cared for him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’ Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?” He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Gospel Trivia:
Jesus affirms the Law of Moses regarding the greatest commandment: to love God and to love one's neighbor as one's self.
Then two questions are asked in this passage:
- the first is asked by
the teacher of the Law: “Who is my neighbor?”
- the second is asked by
Jesus: “Which one was neighbor to the robber’s victim?”
The
first question focuses on the RECEIVER of love, which cannot be answered if one
has genuine love. This is because genuine love does not limit the persons that one loves but rather, it is continually
expanding and discovering more persons to love. Jesus asks the second question – hereby shifting the
focus on the GIVER of love. This
represents a dynamic point of view: love has no limits apart from what one’s
own heart decides to be the limits.
Jesus
dramatizes this point by using a Samaritan, who was regarded as an “outsider”
because a Samaritan is of mixed blood, having intermarried with the invading
Assyrians following the division of the Kingdom at around the 8th
century BC. Thus, they were regarded as
EXCLUDED from Yahweh’s “chosen people.”
It should be noted that the use of the "priest" and "Levite" (one who also performs religious duties) is not meant as a criticism of the priestly class. The first two characters did not help the victim because he appeared dead, and Jewish law prohibits touching a dead person (or even the bed he is on) as it would make one unclearn.
The love that Jesus teaches is not written in the law, but written in one's hearts. We can be a neighbor to all, regardless of our relationship with them,
if we allow it.
How can you enlarge your circle of love?
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