“Who is my Neighbor?”

Luke 10:25-37
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “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.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Today’s scripture passage asks the famous question, “and who is my neighbor?” So I ask you, who is your neighbor? If you take a moment to think about the people that live around you– in your neighborhood, your apartment building, or your retirement community, who do you think of? Do you know their names or anything about them? Have they been to your house or you to theirs? Are there new neighbors that you haven’t gotten the chance to meet yet? What about neighbors from other seasons of your life? Is there a neighbor from decades ago that you still remember? My parents moved into the home they still live in when I was 4 years old, so I have known many of those neighbors for decades. The “new” family across the street moved in when I was in high school and I still think they’re new! Those neighbors saw me learn to ride a bike, graduate from high school, and bring home my husband and newborn baby to visit. It was a great neighborhood to grow up in and my neighborhood looked like most neighborhoods in America– it was mostly homogenous. 

In America, our neighborhoods and the people who live in them are shaped by forces much larger than ourselves. Most Americans still live in informally segregated neighborhoods. Although formal segregation and redlining were banned decades ago, most of us still live in neighborhoods where most people have our same skin color, speak our same language, have the same sexual orientation, and have similar incomes. Segregation isn’t just about race– it’s about wealth, class, and culture too. Most of us spend most of our time with people in the economic class as our families. I read an article in the Washington Post this week about a study on the most, and least, socioeconomically diverse places in America. The graph in the article was only from -.4% to .2%, so a miniscule percentage difference. The most socioeconomically diverse places were chain restaurants, like Applebees. Hardware stores and bars weren’t too far behind. What surprised me were the places where people had fewest cross-class encounters. Parks, grocery stores, and schools were all at the bottom. Oh, and churches. Yes, churches in America are even more divided by race and class than many of our public institutions. 

For the most part, it is easier to love people who are similar to us. The inroads that are naturally present with people who are culturally similar make it easier for us to form bonds, make connections, and be good neighbors. Of course, it doesn’t always work out that way. I had a next door neighbor who, on paper, seemed very similar to us but a years long feud over a cat between her and my dad just goes to show that similarities alone aren’t enough to make someone easy to love! 

The most famous Presbyterian minister in America used to end his introduction song to Mr. Rogers Neighborhood by telling children, “neighbors are people who live close to us and friends are people who are close to our hearts. I like to think of you as my neighbors and my friends.” I love the simplicity of that statement. Fred Rogers defined neighbors as simply proximity, but scripture expands that definition. Neighbors are people who live close to us, but being a neighbor is a choice that we can make about how we treat anyone we come in contact with, whether they live nearby or not. When Jesus answers the question, “who is my neighbor?” he answers with the most unlikely, unlikeable person imaginable. 

You probably know the story well– the priest and the rabbi– the symbols of mortality and righteousness pass by on the other side of the road from the injured man, but it is the Samaritan who has pity on the injured man and takes care of him. Samaritans were hated by the Jews. Truly despised and the feeling was mutual. Both groups believed they were the true descendants of the Israelites and that their temples were the true places of worship of YHWH. Jews hated Samaritans so much that if they had to walk through their lands, they would brush the dust off their shoes when they left, as if to leave any trace of them behind. There were no friendships or relationships between these two people groups and Jesus’ followers would have heard this story in shock, because a Samaritan was the last person they would expect to help.

 And yet, it is he who bandages the man’s wounds, places him on his donkey while he has to walk instead, and pays for his lodging as he recovers. So Jesus asks the lawyer who tried to stump him, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The lawyer responds, “The one who showed him mercy.”

The Greek word for mercy, eleos, can also mean kindness, which is slightly different. I think mercy has more of a connotation with relenting from punishment, whereas kindness can be unprompted. The lawyer sees the actions of the Samaritan and calls them kindness. As commentator Douglas John Hall wrote, “‘[the term is] wonderfully appropriate today, for it is precisely “kindness” that is so conspicuously absent from the life of our world—a world driven by competition, greed, and individualism. But also, let us note that we live in a world whose most ethically minded people often seem apt to be more concerned for rights than for forgiveness, for justice than for mercy, for equality than for compassion.” I find this interpretation fascinating because I am certainly prone to desiring justice over mercy. I love for things to be fair and kindness doesn’t feel fair. I think, for me, the message of the Good Samaritan is that, above all else, my mandate is to treat my neighbors with kindness.

The lawyer’s answer has another nuance to it. Did you notice that he does not name the Samaritan? He only says, “The one who…” Many commentators wonder if it is because he cannot bring himself to say it was the Samaritan. Theologian Amy-Jill Levine says that to fully understand this parable, you must put yourself in the shoes of the injured man and then imagine your worst enemy—the person, or stereotype of a person, that you hate most in the world– as the person who stops to help you. As a Jew, Levine says that she imagines a member of the Palestinian terror group Hamas as her Samaritan. In a moment of desperation and crisis, it is her worst enemy that shows her compassion. What must that have felt like? I can feel the recoiling and frustration intertwined with unmistakable gratitude. 

The story of the Good Samaritan gives us a depiction of what being a neighbor looks like. If Mr. Rogers says that, “neighbors are people who live close to us and friends are people who are close to our hearts” then I wonder who are the people we choose to let close to our hearts? Can we be neighbors not just to people who happen to live near us, but also to the people who we are taught to despise? 

Who is your neighbor? Who is the person– whether they live across the street or on the other side of town– that God is nudging you to be a neighbor to? May to have the courage and humility to extend a hand of kindness and love as Christ loved you.