Lord, who is my neighbor?

Le bon Samaritain Aime-Nicolas Morat, 1880

When we visited France in 2018, we saw many, many works of art, but none inspired me more than this one depicting the Good Samaritan.  This large and overpowering work begins when an expert in the Jewish law asked Jesus "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" to which Jesus replied by instructing the man to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and, your neighbor as yourself.  Thinking that he might be able to find some boundaries on the extent of love he would need to show others, he asks a dangerous question, "And who is my neighbor?"    

This painting shows the extent to which Jesus' followers are called to love others.  Our neighbor is the person who needs our help and whom we are able to help.  There are no limits to those who we are to be a neighbor to.  Jesus' story should have rocked the expert in the Jewish law because the expert in the Jewish law would likely have nothing to do with a half breed Samaritan, yet it is the Samaritan who exemplifies the kind of neighbor Jesus calls us to be.  Jesus assigns the characters of the story roles that challenge the cultural norms, because truly being a neighbor means reaching out in love to the person who might be least likely to share your views of life.  

So in this artist's depiction, the Jewish man is beaten, half dead, humiliatingly naked, unable to even balance himself on the donkey.  The Samaritan is looking straight ahead at all of us who need to hear the message of the story.  He has a sober determination to get this Jewish man (a person he would least likely be friends with) to a place of recovery and restoration, even though he's going to pay for it out of his own resources and economically disadvantage himself.  The ground around them is rocky, yet the Samaritan has no shoes, perhaps an indication of his poverty.  Yet, amid this brokenness and poverty, light from almost directly above them beams down on their upper bodies, reminding us of the many paintings of the incarnation.  This is a common yet holy act.

Jesus, in telling the story of the Good Samaritan, shows us that the neighbor he calls us to be is beyond whatever good will we can come up with on our own.  The neighbor we are to be to anyone in need who we can help is something that comes from a changed heart, a heart that's surrendered to Jesus the Savior.  Yes, we too should ask ourselves the question that can move us more into Jesus' arms and more into a life of extending grace to our neighbors.