Parsing the Parable

“And who is our neighbor?”,
a lawyer asked so long ago,
testing the Teacher,
to know the meaning of the
law, the actors in the words.
Needing the definition section
of the law, to understand the limits,
the bounds, of the command,
the scope of the edict,
“to love our neighbors as ourselves”.

An answer in a parable,
itself needing context,
interpretation, to understand
the ancient law, and
the changed message,
the Good News.
A broadening of the
bounds, the limits,
who is our neighbor
How we act, not who we are,
that defines the term,
and that makes all the difference.



July 6, 2007 7:23am
Luke 10:25-37


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