Who is my neighbor?
According to Fr. Domie Guzman, SSP in one of his homilies published some years ago, he thought that all of us want to be good persons. But what do we mean by good? For parents, to be good is following their orders and beliefs; for managers and supervisors, a good employee is one who is efficient, effective, and hardworking; for our government officials, to be good is giving services to citizens and for church leaders, to be good is to be pro-God, pro-life, pro-family, and many more. All of us have our own criteria and bases on what is good. In our gospel this Sunday, Jesus also gives an example of who is a good person and how to be good. That is, those who know and love their neighbor. But who is our neighbor? Jesus gives us the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
Mr. Webster said: “neighbor” means someone who is near to us, either physically, socially, or perhaps in one’s affections. When we are commanded to love our neighbor in this way, it is very easy to love them.
For an average Jew: Their fellow Jews – only who are well and in good standing within the Jewish community – would not regard the Samaritan as a neighbor. They are outsiders, and the circle of neighborly love does not include them. Therefore, excluded from their definition are the ill and those considered “public sinners,” among whom are tax collectors, prostitutes, and adulterers.
For Jesus, neighbor means anyone of any nation who is in need, regardless of their status in life. One who does not hesitate to extend a helping hand when it is sorely needed is a neighbor to the person in need.
In our society today, there are countless victims along the road. They suffer from ignorance, disease, violence, blindness, depression, old age, poverty, floods, fire, etc. Many of these fellowmen of ours need only a little help coming from us like giving a peso bill, a hug, some good advice, a genuine smile, or just a minute or two to hear their stories of struggles in life. This is our social apostolate and, if we are baptized Christians, we have the duty to be teachers, priests, and, at the same time, as servants to all in order to have a balanced Christian life.
At the end, let us ask ourselves this question: who is my neighbor?
To conclude, let us reflect on the song “Prayer of St. Francis”:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, let me bring pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy.
*Reflection taken & edited from Justmehomely's Blog
- Fr. John Samuel