“Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise."
(Luke 10:36-37)
In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus highlights the responsibility of caring for those in need of care. In doing so, he also broadens the understanding of what it means to be “neighbor,” defining neighbor not in terms of affinity or proximity but in terms of need.
Martin Luther builds on this understanding in his commentary on Galatians. Luther’s response to the question “Who is my neighbor?” is this:
“Now our neighbor is any human being, especially one who needs our help, as Christ interprets it in Luke 10:30–37. Even one who has done me some sort of injury or harm has not shed [their] humanity on that account or stopped being flesh and blood, a creature of God very much like me; in other words, [they do] not stop being my neighbor.” [Luther’s Works, Volume 27]
The command and the call to love the neighbor – any human being and every human being – is something we respond to not just as individuals but as a church. The Lutheran history of providing social services for people in need dates all the way back to the early years of the Reformation, when Luther and other reformers worked together with civic officials to ensure that those without sufficient resources were provided for.
Recent accusations of Lutheran social ministry organizations as “money-laundering” are both false and ignorant. Lutheran social ministry organizations do receive significant government funding, but this is because of their (our!) proven track record of providing effective services in ways that are cost-effective, too. Together, government contracts and charitable gifts allow us to have an impact on our society well beyond our membership. And this is true not only in the United States but around the world. A bishop from Tanzania once told me that approximately one third of the social services in his country are provided by Lutheran institutions.
Learn more about the Lutheran Services of America network by visiting their website at www.lutheranservices.org. While you’re there, please consider clicking the Give button too.
The Rev. Kathryn A. Kleinhans, Ph.D.
Dean