Who's "My Neighbor"?

Jesus had a conversation once, in Luke 10:25-37, with a proud lawyer about just who exactly is the “neighbor” in the commandment “love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jewish tradition said it only referred to the Jews, but Jesus surprises the lawyer by telling a story in which a Samaritan man had compassion on a Jew, and then Jesus said “be like him.”

Jesus could have told a story about a desperate Samaritan who was shown compassion by a neighborly, good-willed Jew. A story still communicating our neighbor is anyone-Jew, Gentile, Samaritan, friend or stranger. A story the lawyer would no doubt still cringe at, but perhaps he could take pride in his people having been the bigger person. And maybe he would have felt inclined to occasionally extend a favor to the less fortunate.

But Jesus didn’t say go show mercy to the Samaritans. He said, go show mercy like the Samaritan.

He says, Learn from the very person you’re trying to exclude from your “neighborhood.” A lesson in humility.

And when we’re humble in spirit we discover it is we who define neighbor. It's every single person we come in contact with and decide whether to show them love, extend compassion, and have mercy.

"Love your neighbor."

Yeah, I think the whole love part starts the moment we look at someone and call them “neighbor.”

How many neighbors do you have? I pray we, as Christians, have the largest neighborhoods.