Number 192 - April 1999

Who is my neighbour ?

We are the trustees of an extraordinary gift: the Light of Christ in our hearts. We must keep in mind that we Christians have a very great responsibility compared with the others: we have to be witnesses by word and deed. The Vatican Council has clearly underlined this to us.

When I give to someone what he has a right to expect from me as a Christian, by doing so I fabricate my neighbour. A Christian must always be fabricating neighbours: bringing close to him, and through him to Christ anyone who approaches him. But when this other person is my enemy? Jesus said to us: "Love your enemies". Oh, how important it is to remember that, on leaving this retreat you are all leaving to fabricate neighbours. What a mystery of Love and what an extraordinary obligation to pour into the hearts of others what we ourselves have received, on order to help them find the Light. We must always fabricate neighbours. That's not always so easy: not to disappoint! For we mustn't miss the meetings of God! God brings this person or that into contact with us; what am I to give him? What can I give him? I must be constantly concerned with the fabrication of my neighbour. If Christians understood that, how many souls would discover Jesus. They never hear of Him because Christians don't make neighbours.

When we recite our: "I confess to God", we say: "I have sinned in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do". How can we sin by failing to do something? What others need from me and which I don't give them. It's for that, that Jesus said a lot about this point, notably in the Gospel of Saint Luke.

The good Samaritan

This question was asked of Jesus: "But who is my neighbour? And you know that at that moment Jesus answered by the parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10, 29-37.

It's extremely important to meditate on the quality of this parable.
"A man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho fell amongst bandits who, after having stripped him and beaten him up, went off, leaving him half dead. By chance a priest went down the same road; he saw him, crossed to the other side of the road and went on his way. In the same way a Levite, happening to come along, saw him, crossed over and went on.

But a Samaritan who was making a journey came upon him, and on seeing him was moved with compassion. He came up to him, bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them, and then lifted him onto his own mount, took him to the inn and looked after him. The next day he took out two coins, and gave them to the inn-keeper saying: Take care of him, and if you need to spend any more I'll pay you back on my return. Which of the three, in your opinion, was a neighbour to the main who fell amongst bandits?" They answered: "The one who had pity on him". And Jesus said: "Go and do likewise".

Understand clearly the sense of this parable. First you must situate clearly the place: this road which goes down from Jerusalem to Jericho, which crosses the famous desert of Juda for 12 kilometres before arriving at Jericho. It's there, in this very deserted place that this parable takes place, and it's there that this man is attacked by bandits. First of all a very Old Testament style priest arrives and doesn't stop. What must he have said to himself? "Oh, if I stop what trouble will be in it for me?" What ought he to have said? "If I don't stop, what trouble he'll have this poor wounded man if I don't help him?" He looked at things from his own point of view, not from the point of view of the wounded man. It's very enlightening: we mustn't look at things from the point of view of ourselves, but from the point of view of others. You can see then their attitude.

On the other hand, immediately afterwards a Levite arrives. That's a very Old Testament style seminarist who also sees him and goes on, saying to himself: "If I stop I'll be late arriving at the seminary", or something like that... and he passes by.

Finally a Samaritan arrives. Note well the situation: The Samaritans are the hereditary enemies of the Jews. Jesus brings face to face two me who, according to their heredity, are enemies. The Samaritan was moved with compassion and stopped.

Jesus answers the question: who is my neighbour?
Let us count up a little on our fingers what he did:
1- He approaches him;
2- He bandages his wounds;
3- He pours on oil and wine;
4- He lifts him onto his own mount;
5- He leads him to an inn;
6- He takes care of him;
7- The next day he takes out two coins and gives them to the inn-keeper;
8- Saying to him: "Look after him,
9- If you need to spend any more I'll pay you back on my return".

He does nine things. Here is Jesus' answer. He goes as far as he can go in charity. It's not always easy. Not only he goes as far as he can go in charity, but he goes over the limits. For what is characteristic in this parable, is that there are no limits: If you need to spend more (I don't give you any limits) I'll pay you back on my return.

Often our charity goes simply as far as 5/9, or even 6/9; but as forgoing as far as 9/9 that's to say totally, it's extremely difficult, extremely demanding. He who gave his Life and his Blood for us can give us this lesson of exigency. It goes as far as Christian charity can go. It's very demanding! And it's easy to teach but not always easy to practice.

The bad rich man

Jesus gave us a second parable in Saint Luc, always for thesame reason: He teaches us who is our neighbour.It's on the contraythe one who didn't pratice charity. It's the famous parable of thebad rich man and Lazarus, Luke 16, 19-31. Jesus says to us:

"There was a rich man who dressed in fine linen and purple who, each day lived the high life; and a poor man, named Lazarus, lay close to his main gate covered in ulcers. He would have been glad to feed off what fell from the rich man's table... even more, the dogs themselves came to lick his ulcers. Now the poor man died and was carried off by the angels to the kingdom of Abraham; The rich man also died and was buried.

In the abode of the dead, being in torment, he raised his eyes and saw far off Abraham, with Lazarus resting on his heart. So he cried out: "Father Abraham, have pity on me, send Lazarus to dip even the end of his finger in water to refresh my tongue, for I'm in torture in these flames"; "My child, answered Abraham, remember that youreceived so many goods during your life, and Lazarus so many misfortunes: now then, he is finding consolation here, and you have torture. That is not all: between you and us a great gulf has been fixed, so that those who wanted to cross from here over to you are unable to, and that it is not possible either to cross from where you are over to us".

The rich man replied: "I ask you then, father, to send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers; let him teach them a lesson so that they too don't come to this place of torment". And Abraham answered: "They have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them".
"No, father Abraham, said the rich man, but if someone from the land of the dead came to speak to them, they would repent".
But Abraham said to him: "If they don't listen to either Moses or the prophets, then even if someone came back from the dead theu wouldn't listen."

The parable shows us that the bad rich man was in Hell. Why was he condemned? Having riches he lived on a grand scale,led a high life. This does not seem to be what he is reproached for. Is it rather that he refused to help Lazarus, for Lazarus is at his door, poor, covered with ulcers, having nothing to eat or even to tend himselfwith? He doesn't seem to be reproached for that. It is much more serious than that. Why did the bad rich man go to hell? It'sbecause, having riches at his disposition he wasn't even aware of the presence of Lazarus at his door; he didn't realize that richness was a duty and a very important duty. That requires a very great awareness of all the miseries which richness must relieve. It's for that, that Jesus was so severe in the Gospel, sayingthat it was more difficult for a rich man to enter into Heaven than for a camel to pass through theeye of a needle. These words are terrible.

The rich man, possessed by his riches.

And then, it must be understood what is meant by a rich man in the Gospel. Is it someone who has riches? No. It is someone who is possessed by his riches. That's quite another thing! Possessed by his riches, a slave to his riches. It's very important to remember that. It's so important that we have a whole encyclical of Pope Leon XIII about it: "Rerum novarum". He tells us it is necessary that there be people with money in their hands, but that they must have the concern, the responsibility of making this money fruitful. After having told us that, he adds something very important: that is that richness is never a privilege. Do not speak of the privilege of richness, that is a serious mistake. Richness is not a privilege but a duty. Oh, don't forget that. That thought was developed also in "Quadragesimo Anno", that's to say when the 40th anniversary of Rerum Novarum was celebrated.

So, richness is a duty. What must be done with richness?

He who has riches in his hands must use it for those closest to him: his wife, his children. That's normal. The question is not this, but of what is left over. It must be realized that what is left over is a duty. So it must be used to undertake social works, to build hospitals and libraries, to help those most in need, to support the under developed countries, for constructions and so many other things...

I think that brings up extremely important questions for the conscience, for the goods of the Earth must be used in order to enjoy God alone. God mustn't be used by enjoying for oneself the goods of the Earth. So we must keep this spirit of poverty, which is a freedom with regard to the goods of the Earth; which means that one uses them, but that if one doesn't have them one keeps, all the same, an inner freedom. But if Jesus spoke of poverty and even blessed it, He did not however bless misery. There are people who are in extreme misery; that is a great wrong. Those who are in a state of misery risk becoming embittered by it; that demands a great deal of mercy for them.

Let us recall the story of the pool of Bethsaïda and of this invalid who had been there for 38 years. What a terrible misery! When the water started bubbling they trod over him. For 38 years he had never been able to jump into the water first and he had never been healed. You know with what compassion Jesus went to find him, without this man even knowing who He was: "Do you want to be healed?" And Jesus said to him: "Pick up your mat and walk". For those who are in great misery, much compassion is needed.

It is nonetheless true that misery is the condemnation of the rich. When one remains rich, faced with a misery which remains misery, there is no fraternal charity, and one could not enter into Heaven any more than a camel could pass through the eye of a needle. Only what is made of charity and love can go to Heaven.