If your prayer reaches heaven but your kindness never reaches next door, you’re only halfway to God. The words of Victor Hugo, a celebrated poet and novelist, resonate with the teaching of Jesus. Hugo’s words proclaim that “To love another person is to see the face of God.” These words re-echo the instruction of Jesus: “You shall 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 your neighbour as yourself.” A legal luminary asked Jesus: “Who is my neighbour?” Jesus provided an answer with a parable of the Good Samaritan who bandaged the wounds of a Jew to demonstrate that love goes beyond the boundaries of tribe, race, and religion. The love which the Good Samaritan demonstrated was unconditional. His act of charity was not done for any material gain. He went against the conventional wisdom of the world, which says, ‘You give something to get something in return.’ Nigerians would say, “Nothing goes for nothing.” Teddy Pendergrass, a musician, captures this mundane philosophy in the lyrics: “It’s so good loving somebody when somebody loves you back.” The Samaritan loved for the sake of love and the sake of God. In the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus teaches us the meaning of unconditional love, which means loving people as God loves them, seeing people as God sees them, and caring for others as God cares for us. Have we realized that true love is not a mere feeling but an action? Luke 10:25-37; Monday, 27th Week