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ОглавлениеMy Neighborhood
My husband is from a small town in Louisiana. He is in his mid-fifties. He has fond memories of the tight-knit community of family, friends, and neighbors. There are other memories that are not so pleasant. His very small town did not have a diverse population. He recalls knowing of only one Hispanic family and an Indian family that owned a convenience store. Other than those two families, the town was black and white—even the cemeteries.
When he began his kindergarten year, schools in his town were still segregated. About halfway through the term, desegregation finally reached his school system. He shared with me how scared he was as a little boy hearing his older brothers and sisters recall the racial fights that occurred nearly daily at their junior and senior high schools. Although the signs of “colored” and “white” had been taken down at restaurants and department stores, no one dared cross those invisible barriers.
One of his most frightening experiences happened around age four. A downpour came as he, his father, and his mother were almost home after shopping in a city about forty minutes away. His father pulled the car into a church parking lot close to their neighborhood to wait out the storm. There was no sign out front, but it was understood that it was a “whites only” church. My husband recalled how terrified he was of his father being hurt or put in jail for parking at that church. He fixated on the church doors, hoping no one would come out.
Part of his parents’ driving lessons for him and his siblings was “the talk” that they were never to drive through certain neighborhoods, even if it was the shortest route to school or to the grocery store. That kind of counsel did not come from overzealous, misinformed parents, but from their experiences of living in a racially divided town.
My husband shared a story his dad told him about a night that as a child, his family slept in their cornfield. Word had spread that a white man had been shot and it was rumored that a black man had killed him. Law enforcement was going through the rural black neighborhoods collecting their guns. My husband’s grandfather was so fearful of the anger toward blacks that he took his family and fled their home to spend the night in their cornfield, hoping the rage would have subsided by the next day. Even though everyone was born in America, my father-in-law was a World War II veteran, and his father was respected in his community as a faithful deacon who physically helped build the black church, their family was not treated as part of the neighborhood. By God’s grace, my husband did not internalize those horrible experiences to the degree that they damaged his view of God or the mission of the Church.
What kind of neighborhood did you grow up in? What are your first memories of neighbors? Were you the kind of person who would reach out to the neighbors? I confess, although I am very comfortable with public speaking, I am overwhelmingly an introvert. I lived in a neighborhood for about thirteen years and did not know anyone except an older lady who lived to the left of my house. That neighborhood to me was more of a collection of houses than a community of people who had at least a moderate concern about one another. Unfortunately, it never felt like a real neighborhood.
It is an entirely different experience in our current neighborhood. We love it! It is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in our area of the city. We affectionately call it the Texas version of the United Nations. Although I am still an introvert, there is something that draws me out of my cocoon. I have come to know more people in the short time that we have been here than any other place I have lived. What my husband and I sensed shortly after moving in was the atmosphere of neighborly concern and oneness of purpose. As people walk their dogs, they greet us or even stop to talk when we are working in our yard. Because of that introduction into our neighborhood, we feel safe and welcomed. That warm welcome has given us a sense of responsibility to extend that same welcoming spirit to those new families moving into our neighborhood.
In Matthew 22:38–40 we read, “This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Luke 10:27–28, gives us deeper insight:
He answered, “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.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
It is fascinating to look at the two side by side. Together they teach us not only that loving God and our neighbor are God’s commandments, but also that they are matters of life and death for us, not for the neighbor!
Be Ye Holy, Neighbor
When we think of a holy person, we tend to think of people such as the apostles and prophets—Mother Teresa or Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—but the Bible tells us that you and I are not only to be holy, but we are holy. It is God who has made us holy by the work of the Spirit through Christ. Now, the holiness that has been credited to us is also the holiness that is to be made visible to the world around us through our words and actions. Being a good neighbor is one of the biggest and brightest demonstrations of holiness.
The command to love our neighbor is not something that Jesus offered as a new tradition. This commandment is found in Leviticus 19:18. A broader explanation is found in Leviticus 17–27, a passage that scholars call the “Holiness Code.” These verses explain how the people of God ought to conduct their lives in such a way that they align with the holiness of God. Leviticus 19:2 provides the reason: “You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.” In this portion of the scripture, God constantly reminds the Israelites that the reason they are to be holy is because of who God is: “I am the Lord.” In light of Jesus’s sacrifice on the Cross, understanding the connection between who God is and “love your neighbor” becomes a powerful expression of “holiness.” Ephesians 4:14 and the need to imitate Christ finds a new significance considering this background.
Someone may be challenged to equate loving our neighbor to living in God’s holiness. We know from the scripture that, apart from God, we are not holy nor can we make ourselves holy by acts of righteousness. The Bible tells us that no one is holy (1 Samuel 2:2); “there is no one who does good, no, not one” (Psalm 14:3); “there is no one on earth so righteous” (Ecclesiastes 7:20); nor is there anyone who does not sin (1 Kings 8:46, James 3:2, 1 John 1:8). We know that only God can make us holy, which allows God to dwell with us. “And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit” (Ephesians 2:22).
When Leviticus 19:18 tells us, “Love your neighbor . . . I am the Lord,” we see how loving our neighbor is an extension of God’s holiness into the world through us. In other words, if we have a saving faith that authentically transforms us, our desire to love our neighbor will be as natural as breathing. Notice I did not suggest it will also be easy. If you are a non-smoker dining on a restaurant patio where several people around you are smoking, you will find it difficult to breathe normally, but the natural desire to breathe is still there. As Christians, it will not always be a simple and comfortable effort to love our neighbor, but the spirit of God will produce within us, like breathing, a desire to find ways to do it.
Consider the myriad of conflicts, dissensions, bickering, and splits that happen daily within the Church across denominations. The frequently prevailing attitudes and actions of the Western church are more in line with cultural individualism, personal faith, and narcissistic Christianity, which make “me” the center of the faith rather than the person of Jesus Christ and God’s commandments. As we make a close examination of the Ten Commandments, we find the commandments to love God and to love our neighbor are the fulfillment of the Law. The first three Commandments are about God. The rest is about the neighbor. They instruct us to do or not do things to other people. Even the Commandment to keep the Sabbath provides rest not only for the individual, but for the entire family, including servants and animals. In light of the slavery and oppression the Israelites themselves experienced in Egypt, Sabbath is a way of lessening the burden and bringing the rest of justice into the lives of the servants (Deuteronomy 5:12–15).
It seems like we cannot call ourselves faithful to Jesus and to the Bible unless we love our neighbor. Loving our neighbor is not a condition of our salvation, but it is a proof because “faith [without] works, is dead” (James 2:17).
A Vivid Picture
If you serve at a church in any capacity—leadership team, worship team, choir, administration, or staff—you know how easily and quickly schedules fill up. There is always something that is demanding our attention. Our personal lives are not much different. There are the daily household chores such as cleaning, cooking, laundry, shopping, and paying the bills. Outside of the home, there is work, getting the kids to soccer or cheerleader practice, and small group meetings. Just like that, our lives are packed with activities.
If you were to examine your weekly schedule, how much time would you find is given completely to growing in personal holiness as shared above? If you are in full-time ministry, how much of your day or week do you have built into your schedule for intentionally developing in personal holiness? What amount of time is spent in the relational ministry of being a neighbor?
In Luke 10, the Parable of the Good Samaritan provides the quintessential biblical text on the topic of neighborliness. Here, the expert in the law stands up and asks how he can inherit eternal life. The question is a significant one. He is not asking for an answer to a procedural question or a small functional matter. He is asking about eternal life, life that will last forever. It was only natural, and rather urgent, that the expert wanted to know who his neighbor was.
Before further examination of this text, we need to know the context so that we can accurately grasp the expectations of the writer. Trying to understand who our neighbor is can be a fruitless effort if we have no idea why we should know them. Mister Rogers, the Presbyterian minister who educated and entertained children for decades, sang a simple but profound song to children every day for more than forty years, asking them, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” Have you ever lived in a community where his lyrics were true?
We learn about the good people serving our neighborhoods. However, when Jesus taught about neighbors, that was not exactly what he had in mind. It is good to be neighborly to the people who are in the house across from ours, and to those who are just like us. They will likely return the kindness with warmth and goodwill. But, if an occasional exchange of pleasantries is the extent of our neighborliness, we do not understand the biblical idea of being a neighbor. We need to drastically change our expectations if we are to have standards of neighborliness that align with the will of God.
What Would You Do?
Luke 10 has an interesting structure. Immediately before this parable of the Good Samaritan, we read about the sending of the seventy-two. You may think the two are unrelated, but they are intimately connected.
Jesus sent out the seventy-two to different towns ahead of his arrival to prepare the way, much like John the Baptist did. When you meet different people at work, at the store, or on the bus, have you ever considered yourself as the one who prepares the way of the Lord? If you became more deeply aware of this reality, how would it change the way you talk to others, conduct business, dress, spend money, or live your life? We must remember that we are the only Bible many people ever read and the only church they encounter.
In 10:3, Jesus said that he sends them out as lambs among wolves. These followers of Jesus were armed only with the Good News of the coming Kingdom of God, and were to heal those who could be vicious, dangerous, unwelcoming, ungrateful, unscrupulous, deceptive, and unthankful for the help offered them. Why would Jesus send them among the wolves? Can the so-called “wolves” receive healing and the message of God? Are they deserving of healing?
Who do you perceive as “wolves”—dangerous individuals, groups, or people with whom you would have a difficult time sharing God’s healing? Like the seventy-two, Jesus sends us out into the world, into our neighborhoods, our places of work, immigrant and refugee communities, children’s soccer communities, and ballet performances regardless of the conditions these situations present.
It is interesting that the warning in verses 13–15 does not have to do with the response of individuals. The warnings have to do with towns or communities that are welcoming or un-welcoming.
Verse 5 of Luke 10 deals with another revealing aspect—peace. In the context of individuals, peace is the quality of a person’s character that connects with the same quality in another. This, again, is prior to sharing any message. Can a “wolf” be a person of peace? Can there be people of peace among groups that we may perceive as “wolves”? Is anyone beyond redemption and healing? Examine your heart and how you perceive different individuals, races, and nationalities. Then, consider what Jesus would tell you about reaching them with his healing and love.
A Vulnerable Kingdom
Verse 9 has another lesson: “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you (NIV).’” Our assumptions about what the Kingdom of God is and how neighborliness works are challenged by Jesus. We live in an individualistic culture where life is about “me” and doing what I want to do the way I want to do it. Other individuals and groups are free to do their own thing as long as they respect and do not challenge me. We are usually private about our affairs and how we handle them.
Gospel neighborliness is the opposite of our cultural ways. Yes, Jesus is counter-cultural. Gospel neighborliness puts us in a place of vulnerability. It means that our family in Christ who genuinely cares for us will ask loving, but sometimes probing questions. They will concern themselves with what is best for us. Neighborliness opens us up to being changed as well as being used by God to bring change into others’ lives. Healing the sick means that our sickness can be exposed as we serve others and are being served, unless we think that we are fully perfected and have no sin or sickness in us.
Neighborliness is a process in which God confronts our prejudices, fears, shames, weaknesses, and insecurities—known and unknown. It is a process of discovery and learning. Are we, who are still being healed and still sin, willing to be vulnerable so that God can use us, and in the process, heal us?
My Neighbor Is (Dignity and Choice)
Jesus tells his disciples that they will go to places where many people will not be loving or welcoming, but he sends them anyway. Jesus teaches us just as he taught the seventy-two that we are to respect the dignity of others and allow them to make choices. The stern warnings of verses 13–14 are additional examples of how to treat others with dignity and respect. We are to speak the truth in love, rather than treat lightly matters with serious consequences or coddle someone to merely appease them. Speaking the truth in love is treating others with dignity.
I am a Muslim-background believer and it is my passion to share with others my story of God’s healing and transformation. When I was in seminary, I met with the person in charge of evangelism for a church. As we were discussing Muslims, she said that she never talked about her faith or God’s work in her life with Muslims because she wanted to respect their belief. I believe her intentions were good. But, as someone with many family members who are Muslim, I could not help but interpret the comment as offensive to the dignity of Muslims as people created in God’s image. What I heard was that she was making the decision for her Muslim friends that they did not need to hear her story of God’s work. I heard that her Muslim friends did not have the ability to discern, to be led by God and to make a choice; she made the decision for them. What I heard was a colonialist attitude that said, “I know better than you and I choose for you,” rather than sharing from her heart within the context of genuine friendship and love, then allowing her Muslim friends to choose. Jesus calls us to treat others with respect and dignity even when they may not receive what God has for them.
This principle is true, not only in regard to spiritual matters but also practical ones. Inside my ministry, Gateway of Grace, we serve refugees from various countries and different religious backgrounds. We see spiritual realities within communities and individuals whom we serve. As people with dignity, they choose whether or how deeply to engage with our staff and volunteers. Perhaps the most important lesson about our neighbor is that our neighbor is the person or persons with dignity who are free to make choices, and sometimes that choice means rejecting us, our help, and yes, even our love. We are not their savior. And we are not the Holy Spirit who brings convictions of the heart to matters of truth. This is a difficult truth to contend with as, most often, those of us with compassionate hearts want to fix everyone we meet. Sometimes our neighbors simply do not want to be fixed.
Early in my ministry with refugees, I was overeager to tell our refugee friends everything I knew about how to do things here in the United States. Little by little, I learned that some of them wanted to experience and learn about life in America on their own terms. It often costs them deeply, but it is their choice. It breaks my heart to see our refugee families in trouble. I know that if they had just listened to what I shared with them, they would not be going through such difficult times. But I have come to accept that my “neighbor” is with all their gifts, graces, good-heartedness, and sins, as any other human being. I must honor that.
Several years ago, I met a persecuted Christian family from Iran. Their circumstances forced them to flee to Turkey, where they lived for a few years waiting on their refugee cases to be processed. The family had a son who suffered from diabetes. I met the family as soon as they arrived in the United States. As it turned out, we were from the same hometown in Iran, so it was a very sweet meeting. Gateway of Grace began serving the family and the nineteen-year-old son. We helped him get a job at a restaurant. He had to be at work very early in the morning. His commute was about ninety minutes, changing a few trains in the dark hours of the morning. I was concerned about him. Although he was a smart person and a hard worker, he had limited English and even less understanding about what it took to thrive in the United States. We raised money through the ministry and purchased a car for him. He was overjoyed. We asked him to continue at his job that had potential for promotion, and to keep preparing to attend college. The car was a tool that empowered him to do both at the same time.
After a few months, he met other young Iranians who influenced him in unproductive ways. He quit his job, borrowed money to buy and sell cars, lost money on a car, and quit college. Six years later, he does not have a stable job and has not finished college. Early on, we met with him and counseled him, but we realized that, regardless of the wisdom we shared, he was going to make his own decisions about life. It was painful to watch him inflict wound after wound upon his life. We continue to pray for him, and are committed to providing the same wise counsel should he want it.
A Loaded Response
Jesus’s parable provides a profound response to the lawyer’s question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus was intentional about saying, “A man was going down from Jericho.” He didn’t identify whether he was an Israelite, a good person, a family man, an adulterer, religiously observant, or an unbeliever. The man could have been anyone for the sake of neighborliness, it did not matter. He then identified those passing by the man, which included a Levite, a priest, and a Samaritan. Religiously, the Levite and the priest were held in the highest regard and the Samaritan was the lowest; the Samaritan was the outcast. The Levite and the priest claimed righteousness, were faithful to religious practices, prayed publicly, performed the sacrificial ceremonies, and attended synagogue regularly. Jesus finished telling the parable and asked. “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
Notice the response of the lawyer. He was not able to bring himself to say that the Samaritan was the neighbor, a demonstration of the disregard the lawyer had for the Samaritan. Instead he said, “The one who showed him mercy” (Luke 10:37). Jesus told the lawyer to go and do as the Samaritan had done, which was a slap in the face of the religious authorities who considered themselves holy and righteous. Jesus said it was better to be a Samaritan who was a neighbor than a priest or a Levite who was not. Can you imagine how shocking these words of Jesus must have been? Jesus turned things upside down.
No More Scapegoating
Looking for a scapegoat is a natural part of our sinful psychological makeup. As a matter of fact, psychologists have determined that almost as soon as children can express themselves verbally, they know how to pass the blame. The behavior follows us into adulthood. The motivations for scapegoating are basically the same for adults as they for children: we do not want to feel the guilt of our sin, acknowledge responsibility, or deal with consequences of actions or inactions. Neither is scapegoating a contemporary problem only. From the first family to our family, we find people who choose the convenience of passing on the blame. Of course, what we call scapegoating has biblical roots that at its core had quite a different origin from how it is used in societies today. Let us examine Leviticus 16:7–10 (NIV):
Then he is to take the two goats and present them before the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. He is to cast lots for the two goats—one lot for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat. Aaron shall bring the goat whose lot falls to the Lord and sacrifice it for a sin offering. But the goat chosen by lot as the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord to be used for making atonement by sending it into the wilderness as a scapegoat.
The last part of the passage about sending the goat into the wilderness is particularly significant because we, in our daily lives, go through the same process. While God’s scapegoat had a holy purpose, ours is selfish.
We usually do not think about how our scapegoating impacts others. Instead of asking how he could serve the neighbor, the lawyer asked Jesus what qualifications one should have in order to be considered a neighbor. In other words, the lawyer’s question was intended to find reasons that would disqualify people from being served. Jesus, knowing the heart of the lawyer and the motive for his question, pointed out that neighborliness was not about who “those people” were, but who we are. As Christians, our lives must be marked by attitudes and actions that demonstrate the presence of God. We know and embrace the command to love God, but when loving God moves into the realm of loving our neighbor, we become like the lawyer in the story and look for disqualifying reasons to care for someone.
I am a frequent speaker at churches, where I share my testimony of coming to faith and creating a ministry that mobilizes the Church to reach refugees. I am often given a question-and-answer time at the end. It is rare to finish a question-and-answer session without at least one or two questions that are similar to the question the lawyer asked Jesus, aiming to disqualify someone as a neighbor. Remember, Jesus sets no qualification for who our neighbor is. Anyone can be a neighbor. God provides the example of how to love our neighbor. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Take a moment for self-examination. Do you ever or often try to qualify people in order to be neighborly to them? In what ways do you find a scapegoat when it comes to loving your neighbor? How do you demonstrate love for the neighbor who simply can be a challenge to love?
