Redefining Who we call ‘Neighbour’
The parable of the Good Samaritan is Jesus’ response to the question: “who is my neighbour?” It is a question set within the context of a society that had pronounced distinctions between Jew and Gentile, male and female, those considered clean and unclean; a society where boundaries and distinctions defined who you were, and dictated what was considered kosher when it came to one’s relationship with others. Jesus using the parable of the Good Samaritan redefines the definition of one’s neighbour. In the parable, the neighbour is an unnamed person. Jesus does not identify him. Who this person is and how he came to be in this situation has no relevance. The only thing that matters is that he is a human being who is in great need.
To be people of the Kingdom, one’s love of God cannot be separated from one’s love neighbour. It is a love of neighbour that is not concerned with orthodoxy, one’s status in society, one’s ethnicity, gender, and creed, or whether the person in need is deserving of your love and care. It is a love that responds to the person – a human being in need of help. The Good Samaritan in today’s gospel embodies both the one who is personally able to tend to the wounds of the someone in need, and one who facilitates care of someone in need (by entrusting the wounded man’s care to the innkeeper).
On Thursday (07th July), there was a healing mass here at OLR Parish. It was an opportunity for those who were present to receive the sacrament of anointing. It was also an opportunity for us as a community to remember and pray for the carers – those who are personally involved in the care of others and those who facilitate the care of others. In your reflection on today’s gospel, I invite you to be mindful of those whose needs we may have become indifferent to, or those in need who we may not even be aware of. I also ask for your prayers and practical support of those in care within our community and for those who care for them.