'Who is my neighbour?' asks the lawyer of Jesus in the gospel. Perhaps part of the sub-text here is 'I know the answer to this- and I'm quite satisfied with my relationships with my neighbours, thank you'. Ah yes, the tightly drawn circle with well-defined boundaries. Don't we love them? we know where we stand!
The lawyer has a reluctance to name the one who showed mercy to the stupid man who travelled alone on that bandit-ridden road between Jerusalem and Jericho. 'Who is the neighbour?' 'The one who showed mercy'. he replies to Jesus. Subtext- 'the damned Samaritan'.
An invitation, almost a command, to widen the tightly drawn circle of those included under the heading 'neighbour'. That's how we may read the parable of the good Samaritan. Where are the lines in the sand drawn this morning, which we are being invited to cross. the circles we must widen?
This is not new, but it's always a question worth asking, always a question worth answering.
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