An expert in law stood up and asked Jesus, to test him, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? It is written in the Law to love your neighbour as yourself. And who is my neighbour?”
Jesus told him the parable of the Good Samaritan, and asked, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert of the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (LK. 10:25-37).
Jesus says that the only way to live a genuinely good life is to stay close to Him like a branch attached to the vine. We have to practice sacrificial love towards our neighbour by ‘listening, helping, encouraging and giving’. We should not give false testimony, nor seek revenge or bear a grudge against our neighbour. We have to remain in the ‘true vine’ with our hearts filled with overflowing love.
Some believers get ‘hatred’ from the world. Still we have to love everyone. Good human nature chooses to face danger, but animal instinct flee from danger. We have to remain in the ‘true vine’ with our hearts filled with overflowing love and our feet set on the right pathway to freedom. When evil mind approaches us under the garb of helping us, we should know that it is their big plan, plot, scheme to lead us astray; against religion, pulling us to worship false gods — the devil.
Grapevine supports numerous branches and bears many grapes. In John 15:1-17, the passage of vine and the branches makes it clear that Christ is the vine and the fruitful branches are all followers of Christ who produce much fruit. But those that become unproductive are as good as dead and are pruned as they often infect the whole tree. Similarly, people who try to block the hard work of God’s followers are cut off from His power, by God the Father who is the gardener. Similarly, people who try to block the hard work of God’s followers are cut off from His power, as they do not help to strengthen the faith; to love Christ’s body —- the Church.
Evil men befriend others and slowly but surely sow seeds of poison of jealousy, hatred, suspicion, in the minds of good men with wild-lies to disrupt marital life. Men harbouring anger in the hearts against the fellow citizens cannot expect to go to Heaven just by going to Church every day and by being the first to do Church-work. Such behaviour is not like Aladdin’s magic lamp granting one’s wish to go to Heaven — to earn eternal life. If there is any misunderstanding with a neighbour, such outwardly holy men say, ‘Come out, I will show you.’ And with wrath in their hearts, they remain their neighbours’ lifetime enemies in this world which is of a temporary nature. How much high can man jump with pride, and greed, thirsting for name and fame? One can’t gain Heaven by suppressing God’s commandment of ‘neighbourly love’.
On the feast day, a small inquisitive boy was attracted towards the man selling balloons. The boy asked his father, “Daddy, why are not all the balloons going up towards the sky?” His father explained, “Those that fly towards the sky are filled with Helium while others are not. It is the inner gas that matters to go up. Similarly, to go upwards towards Heaven after death, one must have that inner beauty of consciousness and inner thoughts of the soul glowing with ‘love towards the neighbour’.
