Who is my neighbor? Luke 10:29 (NKJV)
A Question of Humanity – Neighbors Series – Part 3
Go to PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7 | PART 8
In Luke 10, a Lawyer asked Jesus a question:
“Who is my neighbor?”
As modern day (and somewhat, sometimes, contextually unaware) readers of the Bible, we typically don’t like this guy or his question. We query his motives and imagine him to be contemptuous and arrogant.
But, from the context of First Century Jewish life, we can assume that this guy, the lawyer, would have had a good reputation in the community. He was educated and relied upon to help interpret the law in practical, day to day, real life situations. He would have been one of the few in his community who could read and write. When he spoke up in the crowd that day and asked Jesus his questions, initially, there would not have been an air of scandal. They probably expected a question like this, from a guy a like that.
And honestly, it’s a question we would have asked too.
It’s a question we are asking.
Right now, across the world, in many different countries, our governments and politicians are making cases and decisions about who can stay, and who needs to go; who we will help, and who we won’t help. Controversial topics around gun control, asylum seekers, marriage equality, welfare, healthcare, aged care, taxation (yes, it is controversial…) – all of these issues, and more, at the heart, are defining for us, as nations and people groups, who our neighbours and brothers and sisters are. It’s defining them, and often in horrific and devastating ways. In many conversations – TV, blog posts, Facebook comments, school car-park chats, supermarket checkout line observations, airport lounge discussions, and more, I can’t help but hear an echo of Cain’s voice. After murdering his brother and being questioned by God, Cain more stated than asked: “Am I my brother's keeper?”
Am I my brothers/sisters/neighbors keeper?
Some two thousand years later, on a personal, local and global sense, we are still grappling with this question. Maybe, we shouldn’t be too hard on the lawyer for asking it.
Besides, he and many others – Priests, Holy Men, Sadducees, and Pharisees – were trying to figure out who Jesus, and what his agenda, was. Arguing and questioning was a part of their religious tradition and ritual: they would wrestle out scripture and law and life with each other. It was not frowned upon.
Some WERE afraid of him, and the political and social effect he was having on the community, and these people plotted to kill him. But others, still, listened to what he had to say, how he answered questions, watched how he moved among the people – the least of these and the marginalized. They let his parables sink deep down into their souls, stirring and awakening them to new ideas and new ways of being in the world.
Something we need more of today.
When asking the question, “Who is my neighbor?” perhaps we should keep this thought from CS Lewis in mind:
“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit – immortal horrors or everlasting splendors. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously – no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption.” (From the book, “The Weight of Glory.“)
Over to you. Leave us your comments below.
Go to Part 4 – The Lawyer »
[vcex_image_grid columns=”3″ pagination=”false” thumbnail_link=”custom_link” link_title_tag=”true” custom_links_target=”_blank” overlay_style=”title-category-visible” columns_gap=”5″ img_hover_style=”fade-out” image_ids=”20934,20935,20937″ custom_links=”https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1239768002?pt=118656308&ct=blog%20footer&mt=8,https://www.pktfuel.com/dailyemail,https://www.pktfuel.com/support” img_height=”350″]