So.... Who is my Neighbour?

[Stan]

QUESTION of the day, WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?

(leave political parties out of this)

[Amelia]

I don't know my landing nrighbors. I have never seen ot heard anyone or snything from thst apt. I think he/she might work at night.

[Bravus]

From Luke 10:

Quote:

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"

 30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.'

 36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"

 37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."

      Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."

[karl]

And remember that this Jerusalem-to-Jericho road was a common attack point for robbers. Anyone traveling the road alone was taking a risk. The priest and the levite had more than one excuse for hurrying past. The Samaritan was more of a Good Samaritan than at first meets the eye.

I'm not trying to interject politics into this when I contrast two people in my neighborhood from about 20 years ago. One worked two jobs and would often be seen with his sons on weekends with their tractor trying to get some of the potholes out of the mile-long dirt road that serviced the neighborhood. The other was living off the AFDC checks for his wife and three kids (for about five years until his church family turned him in and kept after the state until they forced him to get a job.) He would lie around on the couch and write poetry and lengthy theological discourses.

Both went to the same church. The neighbor and the church were frequently coming to the aid of the needy family for the crises that inevitably would arise. The wife and kids were always on the edge, so anything - fridge going out - car repairs - anything above basic subsistence would require assistance.

I liken the lazy man to the robbers on the road.

His family is the victim.

The church is the Samaritan.

The Samaritans got a little fed up with the robbers and finally did something about them. When forced to, the robbers got a job at Radio Shack and supported the family.

[Gail]

I like Jesus' parables because they force me to look at ME instead of watching for loopholes to benefit myself in the actions of others. And that is a point made in this story, that the lawyer was seeking to justify himself.

I take the main gist of this story to be- What is MY attitude toward the person in need? The spirit of the law is love. If we don't have love toward others we are only keeping the letter of the law. We are not getting it if we don't have the spirit, too.

[Bravus]

(apologies folks, was editing my post on my iPhone while watching a movie and struggled a bit - fixed now)

I agree, Gail: part of what I took from the story (and one of the cool things about Jesus' stories is that they're so rich I always tend to find something new even in the ones I think I know really well) was that it was *not* the characteristics of the victim that made him a neighbour. Coincidentally, someone I was listening to on the radio yesterday said it was significant that the victim had been stripped, because it meant there were no insignia of rank or nationality or any way of telling who the person was: this was simply a human being in need. So what made this person a 'neighbour' was the fact that the Samaritan *chose* to help him.

Who is our neighbour? The person we choose to serve.

The point has been made here over the past few days that we don't have enough resources to serve everyone, and that's undoubtedly true. But that shouldn't stop us from serving anyone... (not claiming anyone has said it should).

[Dr. Shane]

Is it true that people with iphones are cool?

[rudywoofs (Pam)]

no

[SivartM]

Yes!

[Dr. Shane]

I'm not trying to interject politics into this...

Please don't tell me you have an iphone.

[Bravus]

hehe - I don't *think* I name-dropped the iPhone to look cool, thought it was just informational... but my motives are frequently obscure, even to me

[abelisle]

"Love your neighbor as yourself because you are your neighbor."

We're all in this together. All the same. We look different but all of us are each other's neighbors, whether or not in need or doing well.

I remember a story I heard about a man who risks his life to save a person who wanted to commit suicide by jumpimg off a bridge but changes his mind.

When asked why he risked his life to save this person, he responded "I was saving myself. He was my neighbor."

Alex

[Dr. Shane]

hehe - I don't *think* I name-dropped the iPhone to look cool, thought it was just informational... but my motives are frequently obscure, even to me

Well, I don't want to get political but...

The President of my country....

which is a pretty cool guy...

I mean,,,, he has some star power going for him....

Anyway... the Prez isn't doing the iphone thing...

He's a BlackBerry man....

I didn't say his name is Barry or that he is black...

I am talking about BlackBerry phones...

Not Crackberry. No one is talking about crack...

So, I happen to think a person with a BlackBerry can be my neighbor just as well as a person with an iphone. I love BlackBerry and iphone users alike.

[Serafinos]

Good question - & anyone/everyone is my neighbor!

Morning, Stan -- hope all is well!

HUGS

Deauna