Loading...(Events of the recent past have affected the content of this sermon. I hope the result is not a distortion!)
In this passage in Luke we witness a dialogue between Jesus and a lawyer about the second of the two great commandments: Love your neighbor as yourself.
Two questions in particular seem central. The first of these questions the lawyer poses: Who is my neighbor?
This question has taken on new significance in recent days. Our response to this question will therefore prove critical as we face a society dominated by so much fear and anger.
Who is my neighbor? I begin with the people of my own household whom I often take for granted. I must include as well those who live in my neighborhood but whom I barely know. I can't leave out the people I work alongside or bump into in the course of the day either. My expanding list goes on and on, bringing before me the vast array of people near and far who may at some time or another come within the effect of my presence.
Shall my love be restricted to those alone who share my home or my genes or my convictions or race or religion or nationality or sexuality? If so, then I can justify calling some enemies and despising them.
Where do we draw the line? Does love of neighbor have a stopping point, other than the obvious one of our frailty and finitude?
This first question, Who is my neighbor?, can be argued until the cows come home. However we answer it, we will tend to end up being stuck in perpetual doubt and disagreement. Suffice it to say, we shall all come up against our personal limits very soon. It's exhausting!
Therefore, we need to hear the second question, the one Jesus posed after telling the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" Note the switch: not who my neighbor is but who acts as neighbor.
As usual, Jesus won't leave us on the sidelines debating an issue ad nauseam. He strikes at the heart of the command to love by asking us to be the love. Act as a neighbor whenever you can and as often as you can. The model of the Good Samaritan helps to clarify what that means:
First, notice what is going on and pay attention to the situation before you.
Then choose to act in some way to alleviate the situation.
Then render whatever help you can. Find resources that supplement your action.
Then go on your way.
Many times being a neighbor won't be dramatic at all but will entail small actions that take little time and effort but will do just what is needed. There was a day, September 20,2014, when I was the one in trouble. I had just finished the Bike to Beat Cancer and was on my way to my car when I was struck by a huge SUV. As I lay dazed on the pavement, three figures appeared above me commanding me to lie still, that EMS was on the way. They kept me in conversation during the interim and gave statements to the police, then disappeared.
They had done exactly the right and good thing. They were neighbors to me!
Being the neighbor may at times actually save a life or make life more bearable.
The key is to live as a neighbor every day and every hour, willy-nilly, always noticing, choosing to respond, helping, and going on. Though rage may storm around you, keep going as neighbor.
I know that in my lifetime I have not been able to change the racial and religious divisions that drive a lot of today's anger. But on those occasions when I take Jesus seriously and trust him, I tend to notice the look of frustration and exhaustion on faces and I respond. And once in a while my puny actions make a difference. Thanks be to God! So, as Jesus reminds us, "Go and do likewise."
Amen.
