In the history of the world it seems that there has always been a division among people. The division always stems from some sort of difference, whether it be political, religious, cultural or something else, the difference is always the root of the division.
One of these great divisions took place during the time of Christ and was between the Jews and the Samaritans. Because of wars and religious differences the Jews had "no dealings with the Samaritans" (John 4:9). In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus could have very easily used a Jew instead of a Samaritan as the person who came to the rescue of the Jewish man who had been robbed, beaten and left to die on the road, but perhaps, and I think certainly, the point of the parable was not to teach the importance of having love and compassion for those who share the same lifestyle and look the same as us, but to have that same love for all people despite our differences. (Luke 10:25-37)
So, as I sit home on this day in commemoration of a man who lost his life trying to close the division that existed between people in our own country, I will not ask, "Who is my neighbor?", but will instead think of the words by Martin Luther King Jr: "Life's most persistent and urgent question is 'What are you doing for others?'"
-Mandie
