LOVE THY NEIGHBOR

Jesus told the story of an affluent white man who was driving home from his downtown office. Since the hour was late and he was tired, he took the direct route, which led through the roughest part of the city. Wouldn't you know it--he ran out of gas. While walking to the convenience store, he was mugged and left for dead on the sidewalk. A few minutes later a preacher drove by on the way to the evening service. He saw the man on the sidewalk and started to help but then realized it would be to dangerous to stop. Soon thereafter a respected community leader came by and saw the man but decided it was best not to get involved. Finally, an old Hispanic immigrant driving a beat-up truck saw the man, stopped, and took him to the hospital. He paid the hospital bill and went on his way. I altered the characters but not Jesus' question: "Which....was a neighbor to the man?" Your neighbor is not just the person in the next house but the one in the next block or ghetto. Your neighbor is the person you've been taught not to love. For the Jew in the days of Jesus, it was a Samaritan. For an Israeli today, it is a Palestinian. For an Arab, a Jew. For a black male, how about a pickup-driving, gun toting, tobacco-chewing, baseball cap-wearing redneck? For the white, the one who called you "gringo." And for the black, the one who called you "boy." Loving your neighbor is loving the person you used to hate.