Last week, a lawyer asked Jesus, what is the greatest commandment?  Jesus answered that it was to love God with everything, and love our neighbours as ourselves.  Then, right after that answer, Jesus told a story:

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”  (Luke 10:25-37 ESV)

Jesus set up a high standard, based on the Old Testament part of the Bible, that was undeniable for the lawyer.  So, instead of challenging it, the lawyer tries to get around it.  He tries to find a loophole, by asking Jesus to define neighbour.  If he has to love his neighbour, perhaps he can choose who qualifies as a neighbour.  Just the people next door?  Just those of my race, religion, education or income level?

He’s asking the same question as many readers today – who exactly is my neighbour, so I can make sure I love the minimum number of people necessary?

So Jesus tells this story, known as the story of the good Samaritan.  The two religious professionals, the Levite and Priest, are too concerned with ritual purity to stop.  His first Jewish hearers might have been thinking this was an anti-clerical message about underdogs like them being heroes in contrast to prideful authorities.

But then Jesus introduces a Samaritan into the story as the hero.  Samaritans and Jews avoided each other.  There was lots of bad blood, that went back a long way.  And yet Jesus makes him the hero.  The Samaritan was a true neighbour, even to his enemy.

Jesus challenges the prevailing beliefs about what it meant to love God.  Good piety includes loving care for others, not just purity.

Then he goes further, and tells the legal expert, “You go and do likewise.”  He’s essentially saying, “Legal expert, be like this guy, who followed the law you claim to know. “

After hearing Jesus’ command to love our neighbour last week, how many of us tried to find a loophole?  Is loving our neighbour really that bad?  When I trained to be a paramedic, one of the first questions the class asked was, “When I’m off duty, do I have to stop and pull over if I see an accident?”  The answer was no, you can drive past, but if you stop you need to stay until another professional takes over.  There’s a loophole – a paramedic off duty simply can’t stop at every accident.

But as a Christian, is there a similar loophole?

Question: How have you tried to justify or rationalize not loving someone like yourself?

Ryan Sim - October 7, 2013

Monday - A New Idea - Partners To Friends

Last week, I told you story of my old neighbour who helped build a deck. He nicely represented the transition from strangers to neighbours to acquaintances to partners. Today we’ll go one step further. We’ll talk about becoming friends with those we work with, those we help, and those we live around. When I was a volunteer paramedic, I remember one partner in particular. We did several shifts together, and on calls he was always nervous, and second-guessing himself, which could be challenging to work with. One day, he invited me to supper. I met his family, saw his home and farm, and in the process learned about him and his values. The next shift we had together was different. I found we could communicate better, and I could anticipate his moves. Debriefing the call afterwards was easier. I knew this quirks, where they came from, and could work from a place of partnership and friendship rather than tolerance. This has wider application than the workplace, but some good examples of how important this is follow from a few studies: 50 percent of employees with a best friend at work reported that they feel a strong connection with their company, compared to just 10 percent of employees without a best friend at work. (A 2012 Gallup report which found that) People planning to stick with their current job cited “good relationship with co-workers” as the major reason (67%) – above “job satisfaction” (63%), “flexible working arrangements” (57%) and even salary (which ranked seventh at 46%). A 2013 survey of 2,223 business people across Australia In the same way, being a follower of Jesus isn’t just about doing transactions, like dealing with other followers of Jesus because you have to, or caring for others in need simply because it looks good. We’re actually meant to become friends with those we care for, and those we care with. Not every single one to the same degree maybe, but we are actually meant to have a relationship with those we encounter in this life, and not simply use people or tolerate others. We’ll focus this week on those we care for, those we’ve been talking about all along, and becoming friends. Question: When have you unexpectedly “hit it off” with someone at work?

From Series: "Won't You Be My Neighbour?"

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