"Who is my neighbour?" Jesus did not answer this question by a philosophical or theological discourse, nor by any kind of socio-political analysis. He answered with a highly attractive and memorable story, the story of the "Good Samaritan". The power of his story is seen in the way his image survives in so many languages as an emotive symbol of one who helps.

If Jesus had in fact answered the question by a learned discourse or by some kind of scientific analysis, his words would have long been forgotten. Because he answered with this provocative story, his words endure and, because they do endure, they challenge us in a world where the question, "Who is my neighbour?" is an urgent matter. In a world where there are so many millions of refugees, Jesus' subtle overturning of the question is a challenge far too uncomfortable for many people to face. For, in answering the question, Jesus actually changes it to mean: "To whom am I a neighbour?"

Is it too much to dream of a world in which there are no more "strangers", no more "foreigners", but just the children of God inhabiting one world? To achieve this we need first of all a world without borders, passports, visas. Is this an Utopia or the Kingdom of God?