Being A Good Neighbor

When Pastor Marc asked me to preach today, I had no idea that his was our Love Feast Sunday. This is the Sunday that we recognize special members of our church and show our love for each other. I think it is appropriate that I planned to talk about loving our neighbors today as well.

This being my first time to preach, I decided to do a practice run so I made Mike and the cats be a congregation so that I could get some feedback and see how I was doing on time. I think we’ll do alright as long as nobody hisses at or swats anybody else or says “Oh my word..… really? And I don’t care what Mike says, I don’t think an hour and twenty minutes is too long to preach!

Luke 10: 25-37 AMP

25 And a certain lawyer [an expert in Mosaic Law] stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he replied, “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 neighbor as yourself.” 28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this habitually and you will live.” 29 But he, wishing to justify and vindicate himself, asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, who stripped him of his clothes [and belongings], beat him, and went their way [unconcerned], leaving him half dead. 31 Now by coincidence a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also came down to the place and saw him, and passed by on the other side [of the road]. 33 But a Samaritan (foreigner), who was traveling, came upon him; and when he saw him, he was deeply moved with compassion [for him], 34 and went to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them [to sooth and disinfect the injuries]; and he put him on his own pack-animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two denarii (two days’ wages) and gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ 36 Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to the man who encountered the robbers?” 37 He answered, “The one who showed compassion and mercy to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and constantly do the same.”

When we first moved into our current home, I joked that we moved because we could not love our old neighbor as ourselves so we had to move and get new neighbors. As we see in the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus doesn’t consider our proximity to another person as having anything to do with who our neighbor is. Jesus defines our neighbor as anyone who needs our help.

The lawyer was an expert in the law so he didn’t need to ask what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. He also asked Jesus “who is my neighbor” because he likely did not want to be obligated to love those that he deemed “unlovable”

In the parable, Jesus chooses three characters who come across a man who has been beaten and robbed. The first was a Jewish Priest, the second was a Levite who is a descendant of the Jewish tribe of Levi who would have assisted the priests in the temple. These two men are spiritual leaders of their day but instead of helping or even checking on the man, they get as far away from him as possible. The third person on the scene is a Samaritan. Samaritans were despised, even hated by the Jews. Remember the woman at the well in John chapter 4? Jesus asks her for a drink of water and she replies, “How is it that you, being a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman for a drink?” So why are the Samaritans so hated by the Jews?

When King Solomon died, Israel split into two kingdoms. The Northern kingdom known as Israel and the Southern kingdom known as Judah. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was defeated by the Assyrians who took many of the Jews back to their home country. The Assyrian king filled Israel with people from other countries to take over the farms and businesses left vacant in Israel. These people did not worship the one true God of the Jews but they worshipped many Gods and idols. The Jews who were left behind in Israel intermarried with these people from other countries and ended up living in Samaria. The Samaritans worshipped the God of Israel as well as many false gods which angered the Jews.

Why would Jesus choose a despised, hated Samaritan to do the right thing? Why make him the hero of the story? I think Jesus wanted the lawyer to know that even the person that he hated the most is his neighbor. What a great way to teach us who our neighbors are.

So who are our neighbors? Take a look around this room. Here are our neighbors. Looks like a pretty good group of people right? I think I could love everyone here how about you? But look a little further out, outside of these walls, because our neighbors are also the drug addicts, the immigrants, the alphabet people, the poor, the diseased, the smokers, the drunks, the people of a different opinion or political affiliation, the smelly, tattooed, pierced, shirt too small, messed up hair, doesn’t go to church, always makes the wrong choices, dirty, holes in their pants, begging on the corner, can’t keep a job people that God loves just as much as he loves the neighbors in this room. Maybe you rolled your eyes at the mention of some of these or maybe some of them made you uncomfortable and that's OK. Some of them make me uncomfortable too but God wants us to show them love anyway. God wants us to treat them with dignity and respect and help them when we can.

Most of us will never come across a person who has been beaten and robbed but there are other neighbors who need us in other ways. We have other scriptures that talk about how we should treat our neighbors as well.

Romans

Amplified Bible Chapter 15

2 Let each one of us make it a practice to please (make happy) his neighbor for his good and for his true welfare, to edify him [to strengthen him and build him up spiritually].

We have so many opportunities to lift others up. Our culture is very busy and self centered and we can miss the chance to brighten someones day with a smile or a kind word. Have you ever complimented someone just to have them tell you that they really needed that positive affirmation today?

Proverbs

Amplified Bible Chapter 3

28 Do not say to your neighbor, Go, and come again; and tomorrow I will give it—when you have it with you.

Don’t inconvenience your neighbor just because you’re helping him. Have you ever thought that since you’re helping someone it should be on your terms? If I visit my neighbor and she has no gas in her car, why would I tell her to come see me tomorrow when I can just help her now.

Proverbs

Amplified Bible Chapter 14

21 He who despises his neighbor sins [against God, his fellowman, and himself], but happy (blessed and fortunate) is he who is kind and merciful to the poor.

There always seems to be that one person who we don’t really care for. Maybe we even despise or say we can’t stand to be around them. We are called to be kind and merciful to them. It is possible to change our outlook about people. I find that when I really don’t like someone, forcing myself to interact with them and learn something about them changes my outlook and makes it possible for me to be more kind to them and maybe even start liking them.

Doesn’t it make you feel good to help someone? Maybe you provide a ride or pick up groceries for someone that needs your help. Most people who give say that they receive a bigger blessing than what they give.

We can get too hung up on who is deserving, who might be taking advantage of the system, or who won’t appreciate what we do when we have never had to walk in their shoes. I have talked with coworkers, other nurses, who tell me that they have no empathy for some patients because their choices led to the problems they are having now. We have all made choices in our past that we would love to change now. Why not show mercy to that neighbor? What is the cost to us? Jesus never told someone that they were not worthy of his help. He never asked them why they deserved to be fed, healed, accepted, forgiven, or even raised from the dead for that matter, He did it because its what they needed.

Have you ever helped someone who you have heard needs something but you don’t even know them? Have you ever given a server a large tip just to be nice? Have you ever helped someone with a car repair when they couldn’t afford it? Have you ever helped someone with their gasoline or grocery bill because they looked like they needed something good to happen for them? Have you ever paid for a person’s meal in a restaurant then left before they knew what had happened? There are so many opportunities for us to love our neighbor if we will just be aware of the nudging of the Holy Spirit.

If Mike has our video ready, we will watch a story about an 11 year old girl who is a very good neighbor.

Ruby hasn’t given a large sum of money to anyone. In many people’s opinions today, she really hasn’t done all that much. But Ruby has probably impacted the lives of those nursing home residents more than any of the staff have. People know when we want to spend time with them and when we genuinely care about them. What better gift could someone give than 3 wishes and some moments of our time? Ruby has brought new life into a place where people probably never expected it.

Let us pray: Help us Lord to be more like Ruby. Show us people and situations where we can be a good neighbor to those who need a little care and love. Amen