On one occasion a political pundit stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What does the Law say about it?” He replied. “What’s your read on it?”
The pundit, quoting the Law, answered, “‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You nailed it,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But the pundit, wary of the implications, said, “Define neighbor.”
In reply Jesus told His now-famous parable:
“A democratic superdelegate was heading to Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center when he was attacked by a mob. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead in the middle of the road.
A senator from Vermont happened to be walking on the far left shoulder of the same road, and when he saw the man, he inched a little further left as he passed. No way was he going to be seen anywhere near the middle of that road.
So too, a long-time representative from California, when she came to the place and saw him, hugged the far left edge of the left shoulder a little more tightly as she hurried past.
But a conservative republican, as he traveled along the far right shoulder, came where the delegate was; and when he saw him, he braved being seen in the middle of the road.
He went to him and bandaged his wounds and then carried him several blocks to Kindred Hospital.
‘Do whatever it takes to save him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any expenses his insurance doesn’t cover.'”
“Now,” Jesus, asked, “which of these three do you think was a neighbor to that superdelegate?”
The pundit replied, “The one who was pro-life.”
Jesus nodded, “Exactly!”
Light & life 