Who is my neighbor?
This past Sunday evening I decided to attend a church different from my home congregation – it was one of those nights when I needed to be by myself and go some place where not many (if any) people knew me. Since my pastor was not going to be preaching, I thought I would take this opportunity to go elsewhere.
The usual pastor was not there so the church’s visiting pastor preached what I thought was a very compelling sermon on the theme “Who Is My Neighbor?” based on Luke chapter
- An expert on the Law (the Torah) tests Jesus: "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (A very Jewish question...what must I do? The 1st century Christians and we today would ask, what must I believe?)
- Jesus asks him what was written in the Law and how he interprets it.
- He answers with the Shema - a most important prayer that Jews said when they got up in the morning, when they went to bed at night, when people came into this world, and when people were getting ready to leave this world: "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 he also added "Love your neighbor as yourself" - words from Leviticus 19.
- Jesus said he answered correctly
- The expert thinks that's great and all but wonders, "Who is my neighbor?"
- Cue parable...
Basically, a man was beaten and robbed and left on the side of the road for dead. Two people, a priest and a Levite - two people we would think would stop and help the man - pass by on the other side of the road. The third passer-byer, a Samaritan, was the unlikely candidate who actually did stop to help. Samaritans were dispised by Jews - from what I understand, they were Jews who, when the Jews were in exile, intermarried with people from pagan religions and were against the rebuilding of Jerusalem...therefore they were not accepted as true Jews. If you were a Jew, it was an ultimate insult to be called a Samaritan and you did whatever possible to avoid contact with them.
The pastor went on and asked us if we thought it was a good or bad thing that the priest and the Levite walked on the other side of the wounded man. Of course, the congregation all said that it was a bad thing. The pastor said, "Wrong!" We were all a little dumbfounded at first, but he went on to explain that according to the law - the Torah - these men were doing what they were taught to do. The man on the road was unclean and, if they went near him, they would be unclean for 7 days - think of what that would do for a priest...he couldn't lead prayer, he couldn't offer sacrifices for the people...not good.
Anyway, when the Samaritan passed by, there is verb after verb in the text as to all that he did for the wounded man: He saw him, took pity on him, went to him, bandaged his wounds, poured oil and wine on his wounds, put the man on his donkey, took him to the inn, took care of him, took out silver coins, gave them to the innkeeper, told the innkeeper that he would return and would reimburse him for any extra expense - 13 verbs...13 ways that he went out of his way for someone who he normally wouldn't be accepted by - one of his enemies. Yet, for some reason, he decided to help him - he was compelled to show his enemy the love that Christ shows to us instead of passing by without a second thought.
Like any good sermon should do, the question, "How does this story affect my everyday life?" should be answered. The pastor said he didn't know exactly how to apply this story, but he told us that at his current congregation where he attends and occasionally preaches - predominately African American (the pastor is Caucasian) - he preached this same sermon and asked them, "Who are your enemies?" Someone answered, "My boss." The pastor said, "Jesus says to love him." Someone else said, "The KKK." Again, "Jesus says to love them." Someone else said, "The Bush administration" - "Jesus says to love them." Yet another, "The politely racist religious folk around here" - again, "Jesus says to love them."
The pastor told us to stand with him and repeat these words after him:
"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
(Matthew 5:43-48)
Then he lead us in prayer. He prayed for members of Hezbolla and Hamas and for the the terrorizing to stop...he prayed for the Israelis...he prayed for the Bush administration...he prayed for a number of things that are/can be considered enemies to us in the West...the way we love our neighbor is to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us...not just sit around and be angry...that wasn't the way of Jesus. And he didn't just nicely suggest that we love those who hate us, mock us, or dispise us (and vice versa), he commanded it.
Who are my enemies? Who are your enemies? Have we prayed for them lately? Have we prayed for other people (or ourselves) who struggle with racist thoughts? For rapers, killers, for those who commit fraud? Do we love those who have hurt us physically and emotionally in our childhood? Do we pray for wisdom and discernment for dealing with our boss or coworkers that we just cannot stand? Do we love the person who stabbed us in the back in the middle of a delicate situation? Do we pray for the professor who seems unfair in his or her grading? On the surface, it can seem like a nice story to say we pray for those who we have issues with (big or small)...but on the inside, it is a deeply troubling command. Jesus never said that following him was going to be easy, but he did promise through the power of the Holy Spirit that he would always be with us every step of the way.
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on Tuesday, July 18, 2006 at 1:01 PM.
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