Who is my neighbor?

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus tells the religious leaders that the heart of the faith is summed up in two statements: love God with your whole being, love your neighbor as yourself.

One who heard Jesus said this asks: Who is my neighbor?

Jesus replies with the story of the Good Samaritan. It is a story about a man who has been robbed and is left naked, bleeding and penniless in a ditch beside the road. None of the leaders in the Jewish community stop to help the man, but a foreigner, a Samaritan does stop and offer aid sufficient to get the man back on his feet.

Jesus asks who is the neighbor to the man in the ditch?

I have received few complaints since the Nickelsville community moved into our sanctuary. The ones I have received have been most civil. But in each complaint I hear the implied statement that these homeless people are not our neighbors.

At such times this story of Jesus and the religious official comes to mind. The man asks who is my neighbor? Jesus asks, who is the neighbor to the man in the ditch?

The question of the neighbor is a question of perspective. For many of us it is border to our sense of equality. A neighbor is someone life us. For Jesus, a neighbor is someone who helps when help is needed, and therefore someone who sweeps away all borders and limits to compassion and equality.

I am thankful that the Keystone community chose Jesus' definition of neighbor when it came to deciding whether Nickelsville could use our sanctuary.

-Rich