A Parable: Love Your Neighbor as Yourself

Just then, someone stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” The man answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “What does ‘love’ mean?”

Jesus replied, “A man attended his church after his recent visit to the doctor, during which he was informed he had a cancerous growth on his arm. He asked one person, a member at his church, what he should do. ‘I don’t want to pretend to tell you what you should do. It’s none of my business.’ The man replied, ‘Please, can you help me think this through?’ The woman reiterated, ‘It’s none of my business. I’ll pray for you, though.’

“The man approached his pastor with the same inquiry. The pastor responded, ‘We all have ailments. In fact, I would hate to even call this an ailment. Many people experience cancer during their lifetimes. In many ways, it can be a beautiful reminder of our frailty.’ The man asked, ‘Am I going to be O.K.?’ The pastor said, ‘Of course. Well, in the sense that you are a human with joys and struggles, then sure. You need to embrace this as part of your personal journey. God will be with you.’

“After church, the man went to get lunch. While waiting, he was processing the morning. A woman seated in the restaurant peered at him. This woman could tell something was weighing this guy down. ‘Are you O.K.?’, the woman inquired. ‘Yeah. Well, I don’t know. I just found out from the doctor that this spot here on my arm is cancer, and…’ But before he could finish, the woman interjected, ‘You need to get that removed, quickly!’ The man, caught off guard, replied, ‘Well, wait a sec. let me tell you the story…’ Again, she interrupted, ‘Sorry, but it doesn’t matter. Get that off.’ The man felt offended. ‘But my pastor told me…’ She sternly declared, ‘I don’t care what your pastor said. You have cancer. And you need to get it removed. Here. Here’s my phone number. I’ll go with you to the doctor.’

“The man was offended at her brashness. But that night, he decided to call her. ‘Would you be willing to go with me this week?’ ‘Of course,’ she said.

“She went with him to the doctor. They scheduled the removal. She returned with him for that, as well. She continued to check in during the weeks ahead. In fact, the two became close friends after. And the man lived a full life after getting the cancer removed.

“Which of these three, do you think, loved this man?”, Jesus asked. “The woman who was willing to tell the truth.”

Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”