LOVE OF NEIGHBOR: NATURE OF TRUE COMPASSION

READINGS: FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

The gospel of this 15th Sunday of Year C (Luke 10:25-37) tells the story of a Jewish man who fell among robbers and was badly beaten and left half dead on the roadside. A priest and a Levite saw him and did nothing to help; instead, they passed by on the other side of the road. It was a Samaritan man who stopped and saved the man’s life. Now, this is of great significance because Jews and Samaritans were arch enemies as Jews saw Samaritans as defiled, unclean, and sinners. Jews hated Samaritans with passion, and Samaritans returned that favor in no small measure. But for this Samaritan, the man he saw lying by the roadside was not a Jewish man in distress, but a man in distress. What he saw was suffering humanity. This is crucial in understanding the concept of “love of neighbor” and the essence of genuine compassion.

The “love of neighbor” lies not just in seeing the suffering of another person, but seeing, in that suffering, the nature of human suffering in general, which then moves one to a deep heartfelt concern and a desire to act. When we see what we are all up against, in the suffering of others, then the most meaningful response is to do something about it. This is why the “love of neighbor” is a necessity and not a luxury, because without it, humanity cannot survive. When God commands us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, He is essentially calling us to an awareness that the plight of someone today could be ours tomorrow. Therefore, we should always be moved by the suffering of others and do what we can to alleviate and address it. It is an invitation to overcome the human tendency toward selfishness, bias, bigotry, hatred, and discrimination. This is exactly what Christ wanted to impress upon the lawyer by answering the question, “Who is my neighbor?” with this parable. 

The “love of neighbor” requires the spirit of openness, which gives us a broader view of life about the exigencies of the human condition. When our view of life is more fluid and less biased, we gain a broader perspective about human suffering and hopefully begin to view pain, disrespect, injustice, and other challenging emotions and situations without being judgmental, which in turn disposes us to act empathetically and resolutely to address such situations. If we cannot put ourselves in the position of another human being and feel their pain with understanding, respect, and appreciation for how they feel, it will be difficult for us to respond positively to their needs. In loving our neighbor, our satisfaction comes from having brought life and joy to another human soul, knowing that it could be us. 

When the lawyer asked Christ, “Who is my neighbor?”, he asked that question knowing the biases, exclusions, and hatreds embedded in his culture. Using this parable, Christ positioned the Samaritan as the one who was a neighbor to the Jewish victim, and when the lawyer identified him as such, Christ told him to go home and do likewise. Christ was essentially asking the lawyer to shift from criticism to forgiveness, from separation to unity, from anger to grace, from judgmentalism to understanding, and from condemnation and rejection of others to acceptance. My friends, this is the only way we can meet people and love them unconditionally. It is the only way to love one's neighbor as oneself. May God grant us the compassionate spirit of the Good Samaritan. Amen!