April 22, 2011

Who Is Your Neighbor? (Hint: Everyone!)

This morning,  as I prepared my talk for the Anaheim YMCA's 44th annual Good Friday Breakfast, I pondered the Good Samaritan story from the book of Luke about the Good Samaritan.  In it, a doubting lawyer asks Christ what it takes to be a good person. He's reminded of the commandment to "love your neighbor as you love yourself." When faced with such a blanket rule, he probes...

"But who is my neighbor?" 

At this point, The Good Samaritan story is revealed where the least likely passerby decides to aid a person who has been attacked by bandits left half-dead on the side of the road. A high priest avoided the victim. A temple aid was curious, but didn't get involved. The Samaritan, traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho was the one who came to the victim's aid.  According to some theologians, Samaritans were despised in Jericho as a result of prejudice.  So the Samaritan was a stranger in a hostile land, on a trip to support his family and business.  During my book signing today, a local priest who's visited Jericho revealed something to me: Between Jericho and Jerusalem is a road known as the "Valley of the shadow of death."  But yet, the Samaritan saw the victim as his neighbor and showed him love and mercy. 

The point of the story is deep, and likely draws the lines in our lives: Which one of the three was the neighbor to the man in need? The one who showed compassion. The priest likely avoided the situation because it wasn't a member of his church. The aid didn't act because he didn't recognize the victim and getting involved looked like trouble.  The Samaritan didn't care - he was activated to act like a neighbor because of 2 things: 

1. The victim was in dire need - If not him, then who? 

2. The Samaritan had means to make a difference.

3.  The Samaritan was truly a man of faith, not appearance or convenience.  He likely was giving his way out of uncertainty on the road to Jericho,

As I travel on this book launch tour, I'm finding neighbors everywhere. They need my politeness, my positive demeanor, my compassion if they are in need. I see others, who tightly draw the lines around the definition of "neighbor".  Too often though, I see others who behave like the priest (why me?) or the temple aid (looks like trouble).  This explains so much of the trouble in our world, and our potential to become a person of significance. Commit yourself today to expand the circle of neighbor-ness, if you do, you'll make your mark for sure. So who is our neighbor?  Anyone that needs us to help.  Everyone we can find to enrich.  Please think about this over the weekend and in the coming days. 

This blog post may be preachy, but I share it because it aligns with my personal mission statement: Promote good works and outbursts of Love.  As we gather in public (or online), encourage others to do the same!

Have a great Easter Sunday.

 

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