Some say that though the distance from the head to the heart is the shortest, it is the longest journey. Having knowledge and translating it into action are two different things. Jesus shows us that true wisdom is taking what we know and turning it into a demonstrable action that will change our lives and those around us.

A lawyer who seemingly had it all put Jesus to the test by asking Him firstly what he must do to inherit eternal life. In return, Jesus, knowing that the lawyer was schooled in the Torah, asked him what was written in the law and what he had read, questions directed at his intellect. Unsurprisingly, he gave the correct ‘textbook answers’, quoting from Deut. 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Jesus then uses a parable to answer his second question showing him a new way of loving God and his neighbour.

We can assume that the characters chosen by Jesus were to illustrate that love requires us to take a path beyond the intellect: that of seeing with the heart. The learned religious functionaries in the parable, with their hearts closed and distant from God, could not. Love is a verb for the Samaritan, a religious outcast who came to the wounded man’s rescue. A neighbour is not defined by geographical boundaries, colour, creed, or code. He/she is one whose heart looks for where love is needed and acts accordingly.