Who is my Neighbor? Sermon given at Novato Community of Christ by David Irby; Script by Janet Irby July 14, 2013 Scripture: Luke 10:25-37 (Drama acted out by the congregation.) Narrator: A lawyer stood up to test Jesus. Lawyer: Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus: What is written in the Law? What do you read there? Lawyer: 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. Jesus: You have given the right answer. Do this and you will live. Narrator: But the lawyer wanted to push Jesus some more to see if he could make Jesus look stupid. And make himself appear smart. Lawyer: And who is my neighbor? Narrator: As Jesus did many times, he decided not to answer the lawyer directly and fall into a trap. Instead, he told a story. Jesus: A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. (Man is walking along with a jacket on. Two robbers grab him and tear off his jacket. They beat him and then run away. The man is half dead.) Narrator: Soon, a priest walked down the road. When he saw the man half dead, he crossed to the other side of the road so he could avoid him. (Priest walks near, sees the man, and then goes to the other side of the street and pretends not to notice the half dead man.) Narrator: Next there came a religious leader and professor, a Levite. He also noticed the man and wanted to avoid being too close. So he moved to the other side of the street and kept walking. (Levite walks by, glances at the half dead man, and then moves to the other side of the street and pretends not to see the man.) Narrator: Then a Samaritan walked by. Now, the Jews did not associate with the Samaritans; and the Samaritans did not like the Jews. But he saw the half dead man and ran to help him. Samaritan: Oh my, that man needs help. He’s half dead. (He runs over to the man and kneels beside him.) Oh, your head is cut and bruised. Here I have some wine to make sure this doesn’t get infected. And here is some oil that will take away some of the pain. And I have some bandages. (Works on the man.) Does that feel better? Come on, I will put you on my donkey and get you to an inn where you can spend the night and recover. (The man mumbles something and agrees to the offer. Then they travel to a nearby Inn.) Samaritan: Good evening. I have a man here who is injured and I need a room for him and myself tonight so I can keep an eye on him and make sure he will be ok. Innkeeper: What happened? Oh, my. He was injured badly. Samaritan: Looks like he was robbed and beaten. I don’t see any backpack or wallet. Looks like they took everything he had. The next morning Samaritan: (to the Innkeeper) Look, I need to go into town on some business. I don’t think this guy is ready to get back on the road. Here is $100. Can you take care of him. Make sure he has plenty to eat and drink. Maybe change his bandages. Then when I come back later today, I will pay you whatever you have spent. Innkeeper: Sure, I can do that. Jesus: Now, in this story, we had a priest, a scholar, and a Samaritan, a man from over the border. Which of these three people was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers? Lawyer: Welllllll, I guess I have to say the Samaritan who took care of the guy—the one who showed him mercy. Jesus: Bingo! You’re right. Now go and do the same thing—go and do likewise. If you see someone who needs help, then help out! Don’t be the one who avoids the situation. Don’t worry about getting yourself dirty or spending your money. Go help! Lawyer: Hmmm, I don’t know--- I have to think about that….. Jesus challenged the lawyer and he challenges us with the question: Who are your neighbors? I would like you to make two lists (in your head): 1) Neighbors or family members whom you love and find it easy to care for or be nice to – people you like to be around, and 2) neighbors or family members who are difficult to deal with, that you fight with, that you dislike and probably who dislike you. While you are making your lists, I want to share some experiences that come from both of my lists. While we were in Australia, we visited our Community of Christ churches in Melbourne and Adelaide. [Get out the globe and show the children where those cities are on the map] I am proud to say that they are also reaching out to those in need in their neighborhoods, as are we. When they ask, who is my neighbor? They respond: those without food and shelter, and those children without parents. They feed the hungry with a weekly lunch. And, they have created a youth camp for children without parents. They too are responding to their neighbors in need. It is quite easy to care for and love your neighbor when they are nice, when they are fun to play with, when they are respectable, and when they need nothing from us. But it is quite different to love and care for those who have troubles, who are angry and undependable, who have mental health problems or who are making a complete mess of their lives. So when Jesus told the lawyer that he should love his neighbor as himself, he was making it clear that the definition of a neighbor contains both of our lists. Jews hated Samaritans, and the Samaritans hated the Jews. Jesus was saying that we must love and care for our enemies. This kind of love is costly. The Greek word used to describe the Samaritan’s feelings is literally the word ‘gut wrenching’. There is an emotional cost to loving our unlovable neighbor. There can be a financial cost to loving your neighbor. The Samaritan paid the innkeeper to look after the injured man. There can be a practical cost in our time. I’m sure that the Samaritan had other things that he had planned to do that day. But he gave them up to help the injured man. He may well have put himself at some personal risk as well. It’s quite possible that the bandits who robbed one-man were still waiting to rob another. So there may be a cost to loving your neighbor. In Adelaide where they provide the free weekly lunch to the poor and homeless, we heard the story of one man who frequently comes. He is often drunk and has mental problems. He has come into the church screaming and disrupting church services and luncheons. They patiently work with him, take him aside, let him know that he can’t do that, but continue to care for him week after week. This is a very challenging situation but they persist in loving him because they have experienced God’s love and feel it is their duty to extend that love to others. We love because God first loves us. Jesus gives us the strength and calls us to love the unlovable – even our enemies. I want you now to think of one person on your second list – the difficult to deal with neighbor. This person could be someone whom you dislike or someone who makes your life miserable. What is one positive thing you can do with or for that person? For example, could you talk to them, play with them, share with them, or be with them? What is one thing you can be grateful for in that person? Loving the unlovable has a cost but it also has a reward. In very simple terms, the world is a better place when God’s love and generosity is present, and when people care for each other. I recently overheard two of my UCSF colleagues commenting on the mentoring they had or had not received. One was saying how much she had appreciated the mentoring, wisdom and generosity that she had received from her mentor while the other lamented that there had been none of that for her. The world is a better place if we are generous and giving. God has promised that he will bless us when we love our neighbors. If you read Isaiah chapter 58, you will get a real sense of the blessing of God on those who love their neighbor. ‘Your righteousness will go before you… The glory of the Lord will be your rearguard… The Lord will guide you always… You will be like a well-watered garden… You will find your joy in the Lord.’ God blesses us when we love our neighbors. So, who is your neighbor? Quite simply: everyone. My prayer is that we will be able to express God’s love to those whom we like and we dislike. In this way, we make Jesus’ presence known to all through our generosity and love.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Aug 2013 23:58:32 +0000
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