“But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus,

‘And who is my neighbor?’

Jesus replied, ‘A man fell victim to robbers

as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.

They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.

A priest happened to be going down that road…

Likewise a Levite came to the place…

But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him

was moved with compassion at the sight.

He approached the victim,

poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.

Then he lifted him up on his own animal,

took him to an inn, and cared for him.

The next day he took out two silver coins

and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,

‘Take care of him. If you spend more than 

what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’

Which of these three, in your opinion,

was neighbor to the robbers' victim?’

He answered, ‘The one who treated him with mercy.’

Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’”

This is one of the most remarkable parables that Jesus gives. It is also one of the most challenging. A key part of the challenge to us, in particular, is the context. The scholar of the law had just answered Jesus’s question correctly. What is required for eternal life? Love God and love neighbor. The hinge of the challenge to us is that the scholar “wished to justify himself.” This means that although he knew the right answer, he had hesitations, qualifications, and exceptions. In his mind, the definition of neighbor certainly didn’t include everyone according to the dignity of every human person made in the image and likeness of God. Some people, he reasoned, were not worthy of the commandment to love. They were exceptions to the rule and didn’t require sacrifice for their good. They were disqualified because of status, origin, or actions. The scholar wished to justify his position before Jesus. He wished for Jesus to affirm the exceptions. As a question, “Who is my neighbor?” assumes there are categories that distinguish who is and who is not my neighbor. Jesus does not answer in this way, at all.

All we know about the subject of this parable is that he is a man. We know nothing of his status, origins, or actions. There is nothing to indicate whether he is or is not deserving of love, of sacrifice for his good. His only qualification was that he had been the victim of violence, that he was in need. Jesus then masterfully shifts the question from who qualifies as my neighbor to who acts like a neighbor to the man in need. It changes the entire nature of the scholar’s question. It is reminiscent of the question from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s gospel, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?” Jesus turns the question on us. It becomes personal to how we live the faith. It is not about exterior categories, but about our interior disposition and willful action. It is not about who is my neighbor, but about to whom I am a neighbor. This is a radical reorientation. It leaves no room for exceptions based on status, origin, or action. We are to always and to everyone act as a neighbor. It is beyond our human power alone. It is God’s mercy. It is God’s grace. It is the kingdom of God in our midst.