Who Is Our Neighbor?

ME

I like to think of myself as a hero. As a child one of my favorite Saturday morning television shows was “Superman”. I grew up thinking I wanted to be a superhero that could save the world by stopping the bad guys. But even at a young age, I knew that was only make-believe. I knew that I could not stop a speeding locomotive or leap over a tall building in a single bound. I could not stop a bullet. I struggle with that “superhero” image in a world that has so many bad things happening all around us. There is so much to do and I feel helpless because I seem not powerful but “powerless”.

Looking at the news and how we are bombarded with bad news it is much easier to surrender to how things are. I cannot save the world so why start if I know all my efforts will only lead to failure.

WE

What do you think? How do you take in all of the events in the world? You may know of people that deal with their world with cynicism. Others read that cynicism into their interpretation of Scripture. They claim the Bible says that things will get worse and worse until the Lord returns to destroy all evil and set things right.

But you might say that they are dogs and people do not behave that way. Have you every seen the images on television from retail stores on “Black Friday”. It is hard to believe that every year during Black Friday people actually die and they are trampled to death by other people rushing to get theirs first.

Problem is that interpretation is reading their cynicism into the Scripture. The Bible does not support that view. The Word of God is a Word of hope. But the Word calls God’s children to faithful obedience so that the world one person at a time, one space at a time. How does God says His intention for created life will be accomplished?

In human history there is more than one story of human beings killing other human beings over land when there might be gold in the streams or mountains.

In all those instances of people behaving badly where was our superhero who would swoop in and save the day?

GOD

Deuteronomy 14:27–29 CEB

27 Only make sure not to neglect the Levites who are living in your cities because they don’t have a designated inheritance like you do. 28 Every third year you must bring the tenth-part of your produce from that year and leave it at your city gates. 29 Then the Levites, who have no designated inheritance like you do, along with the immigrants, orphans, and widows who live in your cities, will come and feast until they are full. Do this so that the Lord your God might bless you in everything you do.

This is the Word of God.

Let ms fill in the blanks here.

When Israel moved into the Promised land. Joshua was given the responsibility by God to divide up the land. Joshua was to allocate to each Tribe the land required to meet that tribes need. That is how the tribal land was given. The land received by each tribe was referred to as their inheritance from God. The tribe did not own the land allocated but were given the right by God to use it and maintain it to the honor of God who remained the owner.

Tow of the tribes did not enter the Promised Land but wanted land on the east side of the Jordan River. That left ten tribes for Joshua to allocate land for. The tribe of Levi was designated to be the ones to maintain the Tabernacle/Temple and supply the members of the Priesthood. So they were not to receive an allocation of land. The Tribe of Levi would be maintained by the people.

The Tribe of Levi received a portion of all sacrifices whether it was grain of animal sacrifices. They received a portion of the tithing giving by the people to the Temple. Also in the Scripture I just read every third year one tenth of everyone’s produce was to be left at the city gate. From that tithe the Levites would come and receive enough to fill them up.

Deuteronomy 14:29 CEB

29 Then the Levites, who have no designated inheritance like you do, along with the immigrants, orphans, and widows who live in your cities, will come and feast until they are full. Do this so that the Lord your God might bless you in everything you do.

However, the Levites were to leave enough so that

Those in Israel who had received and inheritance from the Lord in the form of an allocation of land to live off of were required by Torah (Law) to share with everyone who had not received and inheritance. This included the immigrants, the orphans, and widows.

Do this so that the Lord might bless you in everything you do.

YOU

Mark 12:29–31 CEB

29 Jesus replied, “The most important one is Israel, listen! Our God is the one Lord, 30 and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your mind, and with all your strength.31 The second is this, You will love your neighbor as yourself. No other commandment is greater than these.”

This is the Word of God.

Israel was given the Torah (Law) not as rules and regulations. It was not a legal system as we have a legal system. The Torah was revealed so that the people could know the character of God their Creator. It was the foundation of their relationship with God. Their covenant with God was founded on how God promised to treat them and how they would honor God’s promise in how they treated each other.

The Ten Commandments consists of four commandments on how we relate to God and the last six on how we treat each other. Our relationship with God is bound up with our relationships with each other.

Therefore God knows that the community will prosper and be blessed when we love our neighbor and love God at the same time. So the people were to look after and support the Levites. Not as payment for services rendered but because they loved them. The people and the Levites took are of the widow the orphans and the immigrants not because they for services rendered but because they love them.

In the fulfillment of this community love God has built into His creation a blessing for all. The community thrives and prospers when all are looked after. The full potential of a community is realized when everyone is included and no one is abandoned or left behind.

It is God’s promise.

WE

Jesus told multiple parables about individual stories of people and their encounter with God’s love. Jesus never told a parable about the overthrowing of Rome and battles to destroy the evil empire.

Jesus told stories about how the world is transformed one relationship at a time. The healing of a blind man. The healing of a diseased woman. The raising of a Roman solider’s daughter. How all were invited to a wedding feast. How the misfits and unclean were invited to the same wedding feast.

We as a church are called to proclaim in the name of Jesus Christ that “all lives matter”. The relationships we establish blesses us, it blesses God, it makes our communities stronger, it embraces the blessing of God that He gives to all who share in those relationships.

In my experience I can tell you that everyone wants to be accepted. Everyone wants to feel like they are included.

Family do you accepts Jesus love for you?

Family do you love Jesus?

Family do you love Jesus?

Family do you love God the Father?

Family do you love the stranger?

Family do you love your neighbor?

Go forth and share in God’s transformation of our community and our world. Thanks be to God.