If I’ve learned anything from the 8 years I’ve lived in southwestern Pennsylvania, it’s that you all LOVE Mister Rogers. Honestly, though, what’s not to love? Fred Rogers was kind, patient, and caring. Through wholesome songs, puppets, and conversations with others, he taught generations of Americans what it means to be a neighbor.
On his television show, “neighbors” were those who lived in close proximity, whether in the homes and shops of Mister Rogers’ “neighborhood” or in the land of make-believe. Through ordinary interactions, Mr. Rogers demonstrated how to love yourself, welcome others, act with kindness, offer and receive help, talk about difficult subjects, ask questions, and be curious. He celebrated people’s unique gifts and abilities, and didn’t allow differences to serve as barriers to getting to know one another.
 |
| Mister Rogers with the Neighborhood Trolley |
All this is to say, I can’t seem to read today’s Gospel story without the cheerful notes of “Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Won’t you be my neighbor.” floating through my mind. After all, this, too, is a story of what it means to be a neighbor.
The story begins with a question from a lawyer, perhaps sincere, perhaps not. “Teacher,” the lawyer asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus turns it back to him, asking what the law says. The lawyer recites from Deuteronomy and from Leviticus: “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.”
Well, there you go, Jesus tells him - you have your answer. But the lawyer is not satisfied. He wants to clarify the terms and conditions. Okay, but exactly who is my neighbor? Who counts? Who do I have to help, and who am I justified in excluding?
In response, Jesus tells the story we know so well. A man is traveling on a dangerous road, when he is waylaid by robbers, attacked and beaten and left for dead. First one religious leader, and then another - people you might expect to stop and help - see the man, decide that he is not their problem or responsibility, and cross to the other side of the road. Perhaps they’re in a hurry; perhaps they’re concerned for their own safety; perhaps they’re not sure how to help. Whatever the reason, they keep on walking.
Finally a third man walks by the spot where the helpless traveler is lying in the ditch. Rather than cross to the other side of the road, this man - a Samaritan, of all people! - sees him, and comes closer. This man feels compassion, right in his gut, and decides to act on it. The Samaritan cleans and bandages the man’s wounds, puts him on his animal, and leads them all to an inn, where he provides for his care until the man recovers.
When Jesus asks which of the three on the road that day was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers, the answer is clear - it was the one who showed him mercy. It’s not the one with whom he had the most in common, or the one he agreed with or liked the best or chose. After all, Jews and Samaritans were enemies. But the neighbor was the one who saw - really saw - the man who was in need, drew near, and offered compassion.
Throughout this exchange, we find that the lawyer and Jesus are focused on different things, and so often that’s true of us, too. The lawyer wanted to know about life after death, but Jesus gave him instructions for life right here and now. The lawyer asked questions in order to justify himself, but Jesus painted a picture not of what was lawful, but of what was merciful. The lawyer was concerned about himself - what he needed to do, what situations and people he could avoid - but Jesus instead told a story about relationship, and community, and working together.
When we hear the story, it may be that we focus on different things, too. Perhaps we focus on Jesus’s words at the end, to “Go and do likewise,” thinking of the times we’ve stopped to help someone in need, and giving ourselves a little pat on the back. Maybe we think of all the times we've passed by, or the times we've looked down on others or turned away help because of stereotypes about others, and are pinched by feelings of guilt.
I wonder what it would be like, though, to focus on something else. Maybe instead of feeling guilted or lauded for our own neighborly actions (or lack thereof), this story can remind us of how God in Jesus has been a neighbor to each of us.
Like the Samaritan saw the man in need, God has seen us in our pain and brokenness and sin. And, rather than separating from us, rather than cross to the other side, God has come closer. God has drawn near to us in the person of Jesus, who put on flesh to be with us. Jesus gave of himself, with a love that was willing to die on a cross, in order to tend to our wounds and make us whole. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are joined to one another, the church. At our best, our congregations are like the inn in the story - places where we receive and give care, and are fed, strengthened, and sent out for the sake of the whole world.
Because of the power of Jesus’s love, we are all neighbors to one another. In this community of love, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to give and receive mercy, all because of the mercy first shown to us.
Comments
Post a Comment