Luke blows the punch line

Yesterday was Good Samaritan sunday. Everybody knows the story. And everybody knows the moral:

"Who are we supposed to love? We're supposed to love everyone, even people we've been brought up to despise."

But, but, but . . .

Jesus tells the story when a lawyer asks him, "Who is my neighbor?" He ends the story by asking "Who was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?" The lawyer should have replied: "The victim's 'neighbor,' Jesus, was the one who showed love and compassion to him; I suppose that means, therefore, that my neighbors -- the people I'm supposed to love -- are the people who treat me with love and compassion."

Obviously, the evangelist messed up. He should have had Jesus ask something like "Whom did the Samaritan treat as neighbor?" Answer: "The Samaritan treated the victim as 'neighbor.' I suppose that means, therefore, that my neighbor is anyone who is in need of love and compassion."