– By the religious and moral laws of the code of holiness revealed by the Lord to Moses, a neighbor could be a relative, a fellow countryman, a pilgrim, a foreigner and even an enemy:
Ex 20,16 : You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Ex 22:20 : You shall not mistreat a foreigner or oppress him, because you were a foreigner in Egypt.
Ex 23,4-5 : If you find your enemy’s ox or his donkey straying, bring them back to him.
Leviticus 19:13 , 16, 18, 34 : Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbor, and thou shalt not despoil him.
Deuteronomy 5:21 : Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.
Deut 10:18 : He gives justice to the orphan and the widow, and loves the stranger, to whom he gives food and clothing.
Deut 24,14-15.17-18 : You shall not harm a poor wage earner […], whether he be one of your brothers or a foreigner.
Deut 27:19 : Cursed is he who violates the right of the foreigner, the orphan and the widow!
Ps 145,9 : The Lord protects the pilgrims, protects the orphan and the widow.
Pr 25,21 : Is your enemy hungry? Feed him. Are you thirsty? Give him a drink.
Jr 22,13 : Woe to him who makes his neighbor work without pay, and refuses him wages!
Mal 3,5 : I will come to you to judge those […] who mistreat the foreigner.
– In the NT, Jesus identifies him with the needy:
Mt 5,44-45 : But I say to you: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.
Mt 25,31-46 : Nations will gather before him and he will separate them from one another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
Lc 10,25-37 : You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, […] and your neighbor as yourself.
Jo 13,34-35 : Love one another. How I have loved you.
Rom 13:8-9 : For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the whole law.
Gal 6,2.10 : Help each other to carry your burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ.
– He who does not love his brother does not love God:
Mt 22,36-40 : You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, […] You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Mk 12,28-33 : You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Lc 10,25-26 : You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, […] and your neighbor as yourself.
Rm 12,13-20 : Help the needs of the faithful. Strive to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you.
2Cor 9,1-2 : Regarding the help to be given to the brothers, I find it almost superfluous to continue writing to you.
Jas 2,15-16 : If a brother or sister lacks clothes and daily food.
1Jn 3:17 : Whoever has the goods of this world and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him.
1Jn 4:20 : If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar.
– The love of God was revealed in his only begotten Son:
Mt 12:18 : Behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul has set all its affection.
Jn 3:16 : Indeed, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.
Jn 13:1.34 : Knowing Jesus that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father, how he loved his own who were in the world.
Jn 14:21 : And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
John 15 :9: As the Father loves me, so I love you.
Rom 5 :5 : Because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
1Jn 3:16 : (Jesus) gave his life for us. We too must lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
