The Good Samaritan
Luke 10:30-35 Jesus made answer and said, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance a certain priest was going down that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And in like manner a Levite also, when he came to the place, and saw him, passed by on the other side.This is Jesus' answer to the question of "Who is my neighbour?" And that is a question for us today, "Who do I have anything to do with?" As a friend, yes. As a landlord, yes. As a supplier of my wants, yes. But this neighbour that Jesus detailed was one that needed help and not one who was there to help me. How often do we see this side of the story?
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion, and came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on [them] oil and wine; and he set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow he took out two shillings, and gave them to the host, and said, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, I, when I come back again, will repay thee.
It is easy to blame the priest and the Levite as selfish for staying as far away from him as they could, but what about when we realize that they did it to maintain their holiness and not because they were selfish? Holiness that God expected of them? Did that mean they were doing right to their neighbour in need or to God? Jesus proved them to be doing wrong to both God and neighbour.
Today we live in the world, that unholy place where most people are against God, and if we took on their customs and attitudes we would be like them, unholy. But the monks and other sects of history who separated themselves from that unholy world neither pleased God nor became more holy. We as born again citizens of Heaven are still in the world although not of it, so when we pass by on the other side or stay as far away as we can from those unholies we are wrong too.
Wrong because God is holy, God is different from what they are and what they imagine Him to be. Their need is to see His Glory, His holiness, His justice, to see Him as good, and you and I are the only screen that they will ever see this on. When we pass by as far away as possible they will never see our holiness and then they will never know that God is holy. Our neighbours need to see us up close. They need to be able to examine God's Holiness in us and see Him. This is God' plan for us, and for them and for His glory.