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Who Is Your Neighbor, America?

We all remember the parable of the Good Samaritan. In case you forgot this story from Sunday School, here’s a recap:

Jesus was approached by the Pharisees. They asked him what was the greatest commandment. He answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.” The Pharisees, wanting to confound him, asked: “And who is our neighbor?” Jesus replied with the following parable:

A man, who had been beaten and robbed, lay dying by the road. A priest passed him, but did nothing. A Levite, a temple assistant, passed him, but did nothing. Then a Samaritan passed him. The Samaritan stopped, healed the man’s wounds, and took him to a nearby inn, where he paid for the injured man’s room and board for as long as the man needed to rest.

Jesus asked the Pharisees which of the three men acted like the injured man’s neighbor. The answer was obvious: it was the Samaritan. So the answer to the question, “who is my neighbor?” was also obvious: everyone is your neighbor, even a Samaritan.

Most of us have heard this story ever since we were little, but upon hearing it, we have often asked the same question: what, exactly, is a Samaritan? And why was it a big deal for Jesus to suggest even a Samaritan was someone we should love as our neighbor?

Israel was once divided into two kingdoms: Israel in the North, and Judah in the South. Judah kept the original capital city of Jerusalem. The Jews there continued to visit the city to worship at the Temple and offer their sacrifices. The Jews in Israel, however, created their own capital city, Samaria, and built their own temples at Dan and Bethel. The Jews in Judah considered this heretical, as they deemed the Temple of Jerusalem the true dwelling place of God.

Furthermore, the Jews in Israel often intermarried with foreigners and combined their pagan beliefs with their own religious beliefs. The Jews in Judah considered this abominable, as they were forbidden from marrying foreigners and worshipping their gods. As such, the Jews of Israel became more ethnically diverse, and they were soon called Samaritans. The Jews of Judah, who considered themselves the true Israelites, called the Samaritans “dogs” and “halfbreeds.”

The blood between the two kingdoms remained bad. When the Israelites returned from exile in Babylon, the Samaritans offered to help them rebuild the Temple, but the Israelites refused their help. Another story tells how the Samaritans snuck into the Temple and defiled it with old bones, making the place unclean for worship. The Samaritans allegedly even aided Israel’s enemies, including the Romans, which inevitably lead to Rome’s occupation.

So when Jesus suggested the Samaritans were “neighbors” that His followers were to love as themselves, His proposal was radical. He was telling them to love people who were not only of a different ethnicity and religion, but who were also considered the enemies of the Jewish people, having allegedly commited unforgivable atrocities against them. And yet Jesus commanded His followers to love them. Not surprising coming from a guy who preached, “Love your enemies.”

So in light of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, when you see news reports of poor Muslim refugees fleeing from Afghanistan, ask yourself: what would Jesus do? Would he agree with political pundits who say we turn them away because “they don’t belong here”? Or would he insist that we, as a “Christian nation,” have a responsibility to welcome them with open arms? Ask yourself: who is our neighbor?

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