This week, I listened to a sermon at church that really struck a chord with me. After all the recent tragedies that have happened in the past weeks and months, it was really time to stop and remember this simple question: “Who is your neighbor?” While many people would initially say the people who live next to them, or across the street from their house, the real answer is much deeper than this.
Jesus tells us to love Him with our whole hearts and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The scripture Luke 10: 27-37 reads:
29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" 30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, 34 and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, `Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" 37 He said, "The one who showed mercy on him." And Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."
Jesus responds to this question, a question that many people have forgotten the answer to, and redefines neighbor not in terms of race, religion, or proximity, but in terms of helplessness, which means that whoever is in need is your neighbor. He uses this story to prove that a neighbor is also the one who provides for our needs and helps us when we need assistance.
Although I have heard this story of the Bible before, it really is so appropriate for all the horrible events happening in our world lately, and more people need to hear it again to remember how we should be treating one another. It seems that many people have turned their backs to God and have forgotten to lean on and trust him to guide our lives. As senseless violence continues to happen day after day, we need to call on God and ask for forgiveness, but also ask him to help teach us again what it means to be a good neighbor in this world and how to love all our neighbors as ourselves. That’s all there is to it. Our nation and all the nations of the world are in need of guidance and direction to be good neighbors to one another, and to reach across the barriers that divide us. We need to be taught to love and not to hate, and how to live in peace and not violence.
It was a short and sweet sermon, but it got right to the point and has resonated with me throughout the week and will stay with me for the weeks to come. In the midst of all the terror and hate, it seems that so many people need to learn again to love our neighbors as ourselves, treat them as we would like to be treated, and show mercy on them.
