command of Jesus to love one another is never circumscribed by the nationality, status, ethnic background, sexual preference, or inherent lovableness of the “other.” The other, the one who has a claim on my love, is anyone to whom I am able to respond, as the parable of the Good Samaritan clearly illustrates. “Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the man who fell in with the robbers?” Jesus asked. The answer came, “The one who treated him with compassion.” He said to them, “Go and do the same.”
