In his epistle to the people of great Rome, Paul reaffirms the essence of the law that can be summed up in the fulfillment of the commandment "love thy neighbor". He reminds them that "any other commandment, are summed up in this word, "Love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law" (Paul 13:8-10).
But who is this neighbor who should be loved? In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus Christ affirms that brotherly affection is not founded on blood, national or sectarian ties, or any other form of tribalism for that matter, but rather it is kinship that is created under certain circumstances, when a person chances upon another person in need of help. Kinship is, therefore, not "kinship of flesh and blood". Kinship is a becoming, governed by "mercy". Every traveler, displaced, migrant, stranger or oppressed person on earth becomes the neighbor. Remarkably, the Samaritan, who is despised by the Jewish community, does not continue on his way upon seeing the Jew stripped of his belongings by thieves and left by the side of the road. He stopped and put off his plans upon seeing someone in distress, a Jew whom he considered to be a heretic and an enemy and who was left for dead. The Samaritan did his duty without regard to the identity of the one in need.
We are "not to please ourselves", says Paul to the people of great Rome. "Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building up the neighbor. "Seeking to please God is meaningless and futile if we do not please our neighbor, especially the one who has "fallen victim to robbers", and even more so victim to tyrants, assassins and murderers. Prayer, fasting and all forms of worship are therefore invalid if they do not strive to serve man and to embrace him in times of hardship and adversity.
Jesus himself identified with outsiders, linking salvation to the commandment of charity to be observed by the faithful. When he spoke of weighing deeds on Judgment Day, he identified love for one’s fellow man to be the main measure used, explaining that he who loves Christ is not sincere if he does not love the person who has Christ inside of him, i.e. the sick, the hungry, the poor, strangers and prisoners: "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me" (Matthew 25:35-36). We can also refer to the opening to the Sermon on the Mount, in which Christ blesses the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and those who are persecuted because of righteousness (Matthew 5:1-12), to affirm that in both texts, Christ spoke of the importance of free service, charity and mercy among men to attain salvation.
Jesus identified with the oppressed of all nations, clearly saying that when you do works of mercy to those, it is like you are doing works of mercy the Lord himself. The present text does not refer to faith as a condition for salvation, although there are texts affirming faith as a doorway to eternal life. Therefore, the text does not mention faith, religious or doctrinal identity of those practicing mercy. "When the Son of Man comes in his glory… he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him…", with "all the nations" referring to the Jews and all the other religions existing in the world. At the time, "nation" referred to the religious nation, with the Jews rejecting any relations between them and the Gentile nations. Jesus came and lifted the barriers between nations and called upon them all to accept salvation. He also told the Jews, the people of his own nation, that there are good people among other nations, and that the Lord will look on them with compassion.
We can also say that man is the place where God prefers to be worshipped. For the person who is inhabited by God is more splendid than all the temples, churches and mosques. To serve God is to serve man into whom God breathed his spirit, "since the Spirit of God dwells in you". Therefore, man is the qibla and the mihrab. Pilgrimage to him is akin to pilgrimage to holy places, to the tomb of Jesus. God does not dwell in erected stones nor is He sheltered by a roof. He prefers dwelling in warm hearts. "Give me your heart".
The Christian tradition considers the Good Samaritan to be Christ himself, for Christ is the perfect neighbor sent by God to heal our wounds and to save us from the grip of evil and the darkness of death. Accordingly, we can see Christ himself in each person who feeds the hungry, gives something to drink to the thirsty, clothes those in need of clothing, invites a stranger in, looks after the sick and visits a prisoner. Based on what Saint Paul the Apostle said: "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1), Origen of Alexandria (235+) calls upon us to follow the example of the Samaritan who is in the image of Christ. He says: "We can follow the example of Christ and have mercy on those who have fallen victim to robbers. We can go to them, bind their wounds and pour oil and wine on them, and set them on our own animals, and lift their burdens."
There are many mentions in the Bible that following the example of Christ requires Christians to act as servants to their fellow men, not as lords, even if they are the lords of their people by today’s standards. For Christ, the Almighty, after washing the feet of his disciples on the night when he was betrayed to be crucified, addressed them: "You call me Teacher and Lord–and right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example, that you should do as I have done to you" (John 13:13-15).
Being a lord in Christianity is neither power nor force nor wealth. Becoming a lord is only attained through charity, humility and obedience to the word of God. The true lord is the one who chooses to be a servant to the poor, the needy, the displaced, the refugees, the homeless and all the afflicted. And Christ himself says: "But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all"(Mark 10:43-44).
Christ is the stranger and at the same time he who does works of mercy for the stranger. When we do works of mercy for the oppressed it is the same as doing works of mercy for Christ himself, and at the same time we can say that whoever does works of mercy is following the example of Christ himself, he is becoming in the image of Christ and following his example. On this topic, St. Epiphanius of Salamis (403+) explains: "Does our Lord get thirsty or hungry? Does he need clothing, he the unchanging in his nature, having created what is in heaven and on earth, he who nurtures the angels in heaven, and every nation and species on earth? It is inconceivable. The Lord does not get hungry in essence, but in his saints; he does not get thirsty in nature, but in the poor."
We are, therefore, called upon to take upon ourselves the burdens of contemporary man with his many troubles, wounds and problems, and to see his destitution and oppression, especially the troubles of people in times of war and displacement, and commit to caring and helping them until the times of evil come to an end. To love God is to strive always to fulfill the only commandment He commanded we should be guided by: "that you love one another as I loved you" (John 12, 15). To love God requires that we love man first, every man.