Loading...How many of you have heard the jingle, “And like a good neighbor, State Farm is there?” It seems that we can count on Jake, from State Farm, in his khaki pants, red shirt and “tennies” to show up when it’s needed most.
Jeff and I have had Allstate Insurance throughout our whole marriage. They promise us “You’re in good hands, with Allstate.” We’ve been thankful for those good hands for over 38 years.
Isn’t that what being a good neighbor is all about? Knowing they are there, trusting that their good hands will be there for all of life’s little and big ups and downs.
Yet, how many of us know the names of people in our neighborhood? We might see folks walking their dog or pushing a stroller or kids playing in the street. But I wonder how many of us could strike up a conversation that checks in on a life story or who have trusted a neighbor with a housekey to bring in the mail or to keep an eye on things when away?
It can take time to build trusting relationships with neighbors. We lived in our first neighborhood in Minnesota for 11 years, and our second for 16 before moving to Indianapolis. I learned how to can peaches from Glen, our elderly next-door neighbor early in our marriage. We entrusted Cara, the teenager across the street to babysit the kids. In the second neighborhood, the across-the-street neighbor, Gladys prepared our taxes for years. We bought our first camper from the guy next door. One couple was very involved in politics and had a commercial or two filmed in their home with one of their preferred candidates.
We watched kids grow as they stood on the corner of our lot or played on our playset while waiting for the school bus. Oh, and I looked forward to the hot day when the Sherri marched her daycare kids to patriotic music, waving flags to celebrate Independence Day.
When we moved to Indianapolis, we had to start over. Jeff drew a sketch of the neighborhood, and as we met people, we’d put their names on the map to help us remember them. We got to know people around the cul-de-sac, up the street, and behind us. Mike and Vickie took care of things while we were away. We exchanged gardening tips, plants, produce, and a place to get free manure with Patricia.
We’ve made a map here, too, and have quite a few names listed. We’ve left a key with Sheilennah, entrusting them with the cats, and when she was unavailable, we entrusted Tammy. We’ve met Debbie Bergman’s son Jay and his family, who live up the street, and chat with him when we go for our walks.
We might not have keys to anyone’s home, but we have been entrusted with bringing in mail and retrieving packages from porches for safe-keeping. We’ve congratulated families with graduating kids or newly minted Eagle Scouts or who have welcomed new babies.
And on Friday night, when the transformer blew with a resounding boom, and we were without power, we were invited to join a group gathered on a front lawn, sharing beverages and making the most of the darkness.
In all these places we’ve lived, our neighbors have marveled at and commented on how we walk with our cats, late at night. Where we live now, Jeff got the nickname “Catmandu” from one of the neighbors. Maybe it’s because of the cats that we have started to know the people we live near—it sure can be a conversation starter.
But it might be more likely that we aren’t afraid to say hello or stop and chat. Sometimes it only takes one or two people to change a culture. There’s been turnover in our neighborhood since we moved in two years ago, so a few of us might be looking to build deeper friendships in the place we have chosen to live.
Early in my life I was taught that to have a friend I had to be a friend. It seems like that is also good advice for being a neighbor. To have a good neighbor, you have to be a good neighbor. I want to be able to knock on the door of a neighbor and to ask for an egg or a cup of sugar. I want a neighbor to feel they can come over and ask to borrow a tool or stop and chat. It makes life so much more enjoyable to know that you can count on the people you live near to ensure safety and supply needs, to help in times of a natural disaster, blown transmitters, or when you need to haul some new furniture up a flight of steps. And there’s a great bonus if you can start a book club, share a picnic, and build something deeper.
I talk a lot about how Jesus teaches us what love looks like. How the ways he includes people others would shun is our model for Christ-like living. And today, we heard one of the most familiar parables of all in the story of the Good Samaritan.
What caught my attention this time was the way the lawyer asked Jesus “And who is my neighbor?” But not just the question. It was also how Jesus responded. He didn’t identify in his answer WHO is a neighbor. He told the lawyer how to BE a neighbor.
Did you notice that, too? Jesus really didn’t provide a list of who a neighbor is. Instead, he provided an example of how a neighbor behaves.
Jesus didn’t judge the priest or the Levite for passing the half-dead man on the road. He knew each of these religious men had made vows of purity and could not help without defiling themselves or those they would encounter.
He didn’t say who the half-dead man was or where he came from. Only that the man was beaten while robbers stripped him of his valuables.
The traveling Samaritan, a foreigner, was traveling through. Someone from a place where people were rarely trusted, who believed in God, but not in the same way as an Israelite. Someone who others feared because he was “different.”
All of these are neighbors, aren’t they?
I mean, Jesus spends his whole ministry helping folks understand that every person is beloved, no matter their circumstances, no matter their choices, no matter their health, wealth, religious or political affiliation, or circle of friends. Every person in every parable is beloved and valued by God.
What Jesus did in this story was show how the most unlikely person in the story was the one who acted like a good neighbor. He told the lawyer that this man from the other side of the tracks, as it were, a Samaritan, went out of his way to help someone in need. He shared a story of someone who did what was necessary to help a man near death receive not just the immediate care he needed and deserved. He paid to make sure the man would receive care as he convalesced.
Jesus showed the lawyer what mercy and kindness and justice look like, even when offered by an unwanted stranger in a strange land, and through his story, he showed the lawyer that this is what it means to “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.”
Love your neighbor as yourself.
The lawyer asked, “Who is my neighbor?” I can say that my neighbors are all the people who live in the Fox Creek development, but they are only the people who live in my vicinity. The neighbor we hear Jesus tell us to love is so much more than the people in our circles, our jobs, our church.
The neighbor he is talking about is everyone around the world. Because God loves everyone, even if we don’t always understand why.
Jesus shows us in this parable what it means to be an outsider traveling through a place where they may not be welcomed, who sees someone in peril, and does something to help. Maybe a little like the teams of people who came from Mexico to help in the recovery efforts in the Texas flooding.
We might never encounter someone beaten and left for dead like the man in this story, but we often encounter people whose lives have beaten them down, financially, physically, emotionally, and even spiritually, often in ways we cannot see on the outside. We may not always know the best way to help, but when we simply acknowledge them with eye-contact or a “hello” we respect their dignity. We acknowledge their humanity. Giving some time to unconditionally listen to their story just might reveal that they are more like us than we may have expected.
The ways we relate to the people we meet as we walk in this world matter. Jesus shows us, tells us, and teaches us that if we are to follow him, to truly follow him, we are supposed to treat everyone we meet as we would want to be treated.
Because when we love God, we are expected to be just like Jake, from State Farm. A good neighbor.
Amen.
