Family Talk - Who Is My Neighbor

< Back

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

The Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh

All people who are saved and become angels in heaven love the Lord very much. For heaven is the Lord's kingdom, and no one could feel happy there who did not love Him. And the angels also love their neighbors as much as themselves. For they obey the Lord's commandments. And the two great commandments are "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.... You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37,39). If we wish to be like the angels, and if we want the Lord to make us ready to go to heaven, we too must learn to obey these commandments. But who is our neighbor?

When the Lord said that we should love our neighbor, He did not mean that we should love only the people who live next door, or on the same street, or even in the same town or country. For the Lord teaches about spiritual and heavenly things. So He was talking not just about worldly, but about spiritual neighbors. He meant that we should love our heavenly neighbors. And who are our spiritual or heavenly neighbors? How can we tell who our neighbor is?

Once a certain lawyer came and asked the Lord this same question. This lawyer was trying to tempt the Lord, to test Him, and to trick Him into giving a wrong answer, or perhaps an answer that the people would not like. Now most of the Jews at the time thought that only other Jews were their neighbors. A person who was not a Jew was considered an outsider, of no importance. They thought that they did not have to love others who did not belong to their church or country. So perhaps the lawyer thought that he could get the Lord to say that only the Jews were his neighbors. Then the Lord's work on earth would not seem as important as He said it was. Or, if He said that everyone was the neighbor, then the Jews would not like it and would accuse the Lord of breaking their laws. In any case, the lawyer was trying to trap the Lord. And he asked, "Who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29).

But Jesus answered by telling him a story or parable about a man who was traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was at¬tacked by thieves. These evil men took all that he had, even his clothes. They hurt him and then left him by the side of the road, where he might have died. Soon a priest came along, walking on that same road. Priests were supposed to teach people about the Lord, about love and charity and kindness. You might expect them to help others. But, instead of helping the wounded man, the priest, when he saw him, stepped onto the other side of the road and went on his way. Then a Levite came by, and when he had looked at the man, he too passed by on the other side. These two would not help the injured man.

But then a Samaritan came by. Now the Jews hated the Samaritans. They looked down on them, despised them, and had nothing to do with them. Samaritans were outsiders; they were not Jews. But what did this Samaritan do? He felt sorry for the man who had been robbed. He bandaged his wounds, pouring on first wine to clean the sores and then oil to make them feel better. He put the man on his own donkey and brought him to a nearby inn, where he took care of him. And the next day, before he left, he gave the innkeeper enough money to take care of the man until he was better, saying, "Whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you" (Luke 10:35).

After He had told this story, the Lord asked the lawyer, "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?" (Luke 10:36). The lawyer could give only one answer, for, of course, it was the Samaritan. But perhaps the lawyer could not quite bring himself to say that the Samaritan was a good neighbor. So he said, "He who showed mercy on him" (Luke 10:37). Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise" (ibid.).

And to all of us the Lord also says, "Go, and do likewise." The neighbors we are to love are people who are merciful, like the Samaritan They are the people who are trying to do what is right and good and kind. The answer to who is our neighbor is that we should love all others for the good things they do.

So, if we wish to obey the Lord's command to "love the neighbor," we must learn to look for what is good in others. And we must learn to look for what is good in all the people we know or meet, not just our close friends. When we are helping others to do what is right and looking for what is good in other people, then we are letting the angels come close to us. And when we truly learn to love our neighbor, we are also learning to love the Lord. And in doing this, we are preparing to become angels in heaven.

Amen.

Printable Version