Do This And You Will Live

Should we love God or neighbor first? For Jesus that is a ridiculous question. Of course we love God first. For Jesus, we love God by loving our neighbor. Then who is my neighbor? This is the question of the lawyer who was trying to trip Jesus up in today’s Gospel passage. In ancient Jewish culture those in one’s family, tribe and those who live with you are your neighbors. Your enemies are not neighbors. Foreign people, immigrants are not neighbors. However, Jesus clearly in his teaching extends neighbor to everyone! He tells us to love even our enemies. Jesus has a lot to say about who our neighbor is and about loving our neighbor. But on this day he takes a different twist on the subject. He is not going to tell the lawyer who his neighbor is; he tells him how to be a good neighbor in the story of the Good Samaritan. A man mugged and left for dead on the side of the road. A priest happens by. Certainly this respected and honored person will help. No way! He goes to the other side of the road. Then a Levite comes by, another esteemed person; and he behaves no differently. Finally, a Samaritan, despised by Jews because of ancient feuds, is the one who helps the man. So Jesus takes the most unlikely and hated person and holds him up as a model. This story is not about who is our neighbor, the lawyer’s question. It is about how to be a good neighbor. That is a very deep and puzzling spiritual question that we all must figure out for ourselves. There are no shortcuts or alternatives that are adequate. Let us pray for the grace to cherish God’s word, law, and hearts big enough to handle the suffering world and relieve it where we see it. “…do this and you will live.”  - Deacon Corney



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2019 DSF Newsletter