Who Is My Neighbor?
Luke 10:25-37
July 15, 2007
Rev. Nancy Pfaltzgraf
This past week while visiting someone in the hospital two physicians came into the room. Both were dark skinned women -probably from India or a Middle Eastern country- who spoke with an accent. As they talked with both the patient and his family- I found myself wondering if life had gotten even more difficult for these women and other foreign born physicians since the events in England and Scotland and the revelation that at least one of the terrorists was a physician from a prominent Iraqi family who had been living and working in England. Who is my neighbor?
As most of you know, I fly frequently these days and I'm sad to confess to you that on several occasions when I have been waiting to board my plane and a fellow passenger arrives wearing the traditional head covering of the more orthodox and observant Muslims- I have to engage in a "mind over heart" internal dialogue not to allow my fear that this person might be a terrorist to take hold of me and send me running to the ticket counter to change my flight plans. Who is my neighbor?
Today's scripture -often called the parable of the Good Samaritan- is one of the most well known of the parables of Jesus. But sometimes, when a story is so familiar, we miss some of the nuances. And sometimes, when a story has such an obvious hero and such clear villains, we jump too quickly to identify with the hero and condemn the villain without asking the question -which character most reflects the way I would respond in similar circumstances? So let's take another look and see whether God might have a fresh word for us in this old, old story.
We know the basic outline of the scripture: A lawyer comes to Jesus asking what he must do to obtain eternal life. Since the lawyer is an expert in the Jewish law Jesus asks him what that law says. Amazingly his answer echoes Jesus own wisdom, "if you '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,' you will have followed all of the 612 other commandments." Impressed with the man's insight, Jesus affirms his answer and simply says, "OK then do that and you will have life, real life." But the lawyer can't let it go. The NRSV says he wants to justify himself. The Message says he wants to find a loophole. But perhaps he just really wants to know how wide he has to draw the circle of love -who does he have to include, who can he leave out; what are the limits of love? And so he asks the question, "Who is my neighbor?" To answer him Jesus tells this familiar parable.
A traveler was robbed and left for dead by his attackers. Two high ranking religious officials -a Priest & a Levite- came down the road, saw the man but refused to give him aid, presumably in order to maintain their ritual purity, but also perhaps because they were afraid. For you see the Jerusalem-Jericho Road was a very dangerous place -populated by terrorists of all varieties. The supposedly beaten man might be a decoy or those who beat him might still be around waiting for their next victim or he might have a bomb strapped to his chest ready to detonate the moment he was touched. Too bad for the poor fellow if he was an innocent victim, but better to just keep going and get to Jericho as soon as possible.
Then a Samaritan stopped and gave assistance. Not only did the Samaritan face the very same dangers as the Priest and the Levite would have faced, but he faced the added danger of being an outsider -more than an outsider, an enemy combatant on foreign soil. Were Jesus to tell the story in Jerusalem today, the one who gave aid would most certainly have been a Palestinian. If Jesus were in Glasgow, London, Washington D.C., Chicago or Los Angeles the one who gave aid might be a Muslim Physician, a illegal immigrant, an opposing gang member, a gay man or even a lesbian woman. Whatever the setting, Jesus would most certainly cut to the heart of the same issue -prejudice and hatred along with self-centered, self-protective anxiety and fear always stand in the way of LIFE! Or said another way, to find life, real life we must step across the barriers erected by fear, tear down walls built by prejudice, dismantle blockades created by hatred and meet one another with compassion, treat one another with dignity, care for one another with grace. Only the Samaritan crossed the chasm that would keep him separate and safe, came close to the man, stepped into his pain, and offered compassionate, loving presence.
Jesus then asked the Lawyer, "What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?"
And with a deep sigh, the lawyer, unwillingly replied, "The one who showed him mercy; the one who treated him kindly, the one who acted with love."
"Go and do the same."
In a sermon on this passage Rev. Brian Morgan writes:
Jesus' words ... turn our self-justifying hearts to water by raising the level of our responsibility to unimaginable heights. It tells us that our neighbor is the next person we come across who has a need, including our enemy! Further, it says that our responsibility is to look on him with such compassion that we are willing to do whatever it takes to bind, heal, restore and revive him. Such radical love requires breaking religious rules that create distance for the sake of purity, and social conventions that separate because of race or nationalism. It takes money, time, and perhaps marring our reputation. It may even cost us our life. It did his. .... This is the only kind of love that makes life worth living. Without it we might as well live like a tourist and get on the air-conditioned bus and ride to Jericho with the rest of the pastors and priests.
Who is my neighbor?
One morning a man of about thirty, who lived in a boarding home for the mentally ill, rang the doorbell of the parsonage, looking to return something he'd borrowed from the pastor. The pastor's was wife happened to answer the door and the man to step inside while she went back to the kitchen to get her husband. The pastor came out, and he and the man finished their business in a moment or two. The visitor turned to leave, but before he did, he stopped and with a smile that lit up his whole face said, "Tell your wife she paid me a great compliment."
"Oh, really?" the pastor answered. "What did she do?"
"I've lived in this town for four years," he said, "and today is the first time I've ever been invited inside any of the houses."
Who is my neighbor? The next person I meet who has a need, whether or not her need is obvious, whether or not his wounds are visible. There is a powerful song written by Nancy Lamott that captures the heart of what the Still speaking God might say to us today.
So many things I can't control
So many hurts that happen everyday
So many heartaches that pierce the soul
So much pain that won't ever go away
How do we make it better?
How do we make it through?
What can we do
When there's nothing we can do?
We can be kind
We can take care of each other
We can remember that deep down inside
We all need the same things
And maybe we'll find
If we are there for each other
That together we'll weather
Whatever tomorrow may bring
Who is my neighbor?
A visitor in church silently looking for love and acceptance?
A new student in school trying to find a place to fit in?
A homeless beggar on the street asking for a handout?
A resident at the nursing home with no family to visit?
A gay man searching for God?
A co-worker who constantly puts others down?
A Muslim man waiting to board the same airplane?
A teen, dressed all in black, with numerous body piercings?
The one sitting next to us in the pew with burdens to great to bear?
Who is my neighbor? Will we dare to step beyond fear and prejudice, beyond our busy schedules and harried lives, beyond all the excuses we might give; will we dare to come close enough to see him, step into her pain, offer him our presence, allow her to touch our heart, show them our love? Will we dare to allow the Spirit to move us and God's love to empower us? Will we find LIFE, TRUE LIFE?
