Who is Your Neighbor?

Preached by the Reverend Canon Kati L. Houts at the Sunshine Cathedral at the 8:40 am service on Sunday, October 1, 2006.

The Written Word

The Light of Affirmation

The Phoenix Affirmations: # 5

The Path of Jesus is found where Christ’s followers uplift and celebrate the worth and integrity of all people as created in God’s very image and likeness. We…affirm that Christ’s Path includes treating people authentically rather than as mere categories or classes, challenging and inspiring all people to live according to their high identity.

Genesis 1:27, 31

²⁷So God created humans to be like God’s self. ³¹God looked at what God had done. All of it was very good!...

Luke 10: 25-37 (CEV)

²⁵An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to have eternal life?”

²⁶Jesus answered, “What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?”

²⁷The man replied, “The Scriptures say, `Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.’ They also say, `Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.’”

²⁸Jesus said, “You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life.”

²⁹But the man wanted to show that he knew what he was talking about. So he asked Jesus, “Who are my neighbors?”

³⁰Jesus replied:

As a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, robbers attacked him and grabbed everything he had. They beat him up and ran off, leaving him half dead.

³¹A priest happened to be going down the same road. But when he saw the man, he walked by on the other side. ³²Later a temple helper came to the same place. But when he saw the man who had been beaten up, he also went by on the other side. ³³A man from Samaria then came traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him ³⁴and went over to him. He treated his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put him on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. ³⁵The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, “Please take care of the man. If you spend more than this on him, I will pay you when I return.” ³⁶Then Jesus asked, “Which one of these three people was a real neighbor to the man who was beaten up by robbers?”

³⁷The teacher answered, “The one who showed pity.”

Jesus said, “Go and do the same!”

The Proclaimed Word

Love is a four-letter word. It means different things to different people at different times. Some of us write love letters in the sand or think of it as a “many splendoured thing”. Some of us may even feel a “groovy kind of love”. Then there may be those of us out shopping for “Love Potion #9” so we can say “I love how you love me”. I do digress but you get the point.

The kind of love we heard Jesus refer to in today’s reading does not fall under any of those categories you just heard. It probably is more like the one I heard someone describe the other day. “My nephew Shawn had not long started school. My sister Vicki had just picked him up and was waiting at the crowded bus stop. ‘Mom,’ he suddenly announced, ‘I know what they call men who love each other.’ Well, you can imagine the thoughts that flashed through her mind. ‘Oh, yes…’ she said bravely, looking nervously around the crowd, ‘what’s that?’ ‘Christians,’ Shawn replied knowledgeably.” (Karen Margerison from A treasury of Quips, Quotes and Anecdotes for Preachers and Teachers)

In earlier days, though, including the day of Jesus, love meant something very different. Love was what an inferior showed to a superior. Wives loved their husbands, not vice versa. Children loved their parents, not vice versa. Even slaves loved their masters, but certainly not vice versa. To say “I love you” meant “I will serve you”.

So it is not surprising that the greatest of all the commandments in the Jewish traditions was the statement by God’s people: We will love, that is, we will serve you, God, with all that we are. The Jewish people were not telling their God how much they had fallen in love with God, or how much they liked God. We love you meant we serve you.

And likewise: you will love your neighbor means “you will serve your neighbor”. You might not like your neighbor: doesn’t matter. You needn’t be in love with your neighbor. You are called to serve your neighbor.

Now here comes the “tricky” question that was asked of Jesus by our expert in the Law of Moses; ‘Who are my neighbors?’ This expert or lawyer if you will was trying to trick Jesus into giving a wrong answer. At this time, the Jews thought that only other Jews were their neighbors. A person who was not a Jew was considered an outsider, of no importance. They thought they did not have to love others who did not belong to their synagogue or country. The lawyer was hoping Jesus would say that only the Jews were his neighbors, then the work of Jesus would seem less important than Jesus indicated. Or, if he said that everyone was the neighbor, then the Jews would not like it and accuse Jesus of breaking their laws.

Being the smart man he was, he answered the question by telling them a parable. He told about a man who was on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was attacked by thieves. He was beaten and robbed of all he had, and left for dead. Soon a priest who was walking down the same road saw the man but chose to walk around him. Next a temple helper came who also saw the man and passed him by. Then a Samaritan came along. Now the Jews hated the Samaritans, despised them, and had nothing to do with them. They were considered outsiders. Yet, this Samaritan showed compassion to this man lying on the road. He used his own wine and oil to help clean and bind this man’s wounds.

Then he put him on his own donkey and brought him to a nearby inn where he continued to care for him. The next day he gave the innkeeper enough money to care for the man until he was better promising that upon his return he would repay him should the cost be more than what he gave him.

This is where Jesus turns the question that was asked of him back to the lawyer when he asks, “Which one of these three people was a real neighbor to the man who was beaten up by thieves?” Being very careful not to get himself into any trouble, the lawyer would never say the Samaritan was the good neighbor. Instead he said, “The one who showed pity.” Then Jesus said, “Go and do likewise”.

Eric Elnes in his book The Phoenix Affirmations, says; “There is a drive deep in the heart of the faith that inspires and sometimes torments Christians to extend the circle of God’s love and compassion beyond their immediate comfort zone”. I would have to say the Samaritan in the parable had such compassion that he probably never even thought about his comfort zone being challenged. The priest and the temple worker, however, did not want to even consider going beyond their comfort zone. These men would have been defiled for having touched this man and would not have been allowed to serve in the temple any longer. They had a choice to make. They chose their livelihood over helping this man in need.

I am sure the lawyer came to realize that he had to move beyond his comfort zone just to answer the question. Jesus clearly pointed out to him that everyone is our neighbor without actually having to say it in those words. He is saying that there are no fences or barriers around the word neighbor. No unworthiness, no racial or national heritage, class, culture or sexual orientation can prevent anyone from qualifying as a neighbor. The obvious implication of the story of the Good Samaritan is that a neighbor is anybody to whom you or I can be a neighbor.

How shall we love our neighbor? According to Genesis 1:26-27, we are all made in the image of God. It is for that reason that we are loveable. We must love our neighbor as we first love God. We must love our neighbor in God who “so loved the world that God gave to us God’s only son”. (John 3:16. Dr. Karl Menninger says, “Love cures people, both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it”.

These two great commandments; loving God with all our heart, soul strength and mind and loving our neighbors as ourselves, definitely support our affirmation today. Listen once again, “The Path of Jesus is found where Christ’s followers uplift and celebrate the worth and integrity of all people as created in God’s very image and likeness. We…affirm that Christ’s Path includes treating people authentically rather than as mere categories or classes, challenging and inspiring all people to live according to their high identity”.

The entire universe benefits from such a great love as this. Love is like the word of God, alive and active. Love empowers. Love brings goodness to all. If we want to be affirmed, we must affirm one another and ourselves. Let us appreciate our differences and the diversity of our gifts while honoring what we share in common.

To love God with all of who we are and to love our neighbor as we love our self is the most comprehensive response we can give. There is no way to improve on this. As we share love, so we open ourselves to receive love. It’s the principle of sowing and reaping, of cause and effect. It’s also the promise of God to us over and over again. Amen.