It’s not too hard for you

Deuteronomy 30:9-14; Luke 10:25-37

I have been pondering the message from Moses to the Israelites as he prepares them for their future. He reminds them that God is present with them, provides for them, and prospers them. In return, the people will observe the commandments and decrees God has given them.

It should not be hard for them to abide by the commandments, because it is written on their hearts, in their whole beings. It should be easy to put God first and be a good neighbor, with the word of God encased in their beings. … As their spiritual descendants, it should be easy for US to do this. But it isn’t. Other parts of our human nature compete with this God-given part, and lead us to be self-centered, imperfect.

… Jesus appeared on earth, God incarnated, God-with-skin-on, to speak God’s words to us in ways we could understand. He spoke with love, with healing, with challenge, to set us back onto God’s path once again. Often, Jesus used parables to make his point. Some of them are so familiar, so easy to understand that they exist in the popular culture, often separated from faith and religion.

 In today’s Gospel, Jesus has a conversation with a legal expert, who seeks to trap Jesus speaking against God. The term “legal expert” is the new way of describing those we used to call “scribes.”  Legal experts not only copied the Torah onto new scrolls, they were familiar with the commandments and the centuries of interpretation of those commandments. They knew how far one could walk on a sabbath; the ways to prepare for sabbath meals; the importance of the annual festivals and how to observe them.

The man asks Jesus about eternal life. Jesus asks a question in return, and the man responds by quoting the Shema – a prayer Jews say every day. “Here, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 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.”

“Good,” Jesus says. ‘Go and do that!” But the man has a qualifying question. “But, just who is my neighbor?” The question implies the belief that some are his neighbor, and some are not. In response, Jesus tells the parable we call “The good Samaritan.” Interestingly, the author of the book I’m using for Monday Bible study calls this the “parable of the travelers.”

Sometimes, in a parable, we can each take several roles. But, in this one, we usually choose to be the hero. No one wants to be the priest or the Levite. Few even want to be the innkeeper. We want to be the hero, the Samaritan, the one who takes care of his enemy. It’s really not necessary to explain this parable; we can all tell it, pretty much word for word.

 … So let’s think about what it means for us, by asking the question the legal expert asked Jesus. “Who is my neighbor?” We know the “right answer” is everyone. But we find it hard to live it out. There is something within us that forces us to make a distinction between people – some are neighbors, and some can’t possibly be neighbors.

We can rationalize it: our neighbors are not those who live far away; our neighbors are not those who are too different from us; our neighbors are not those who try to harm us – our enemies.  But, Jesus has a comment about that. “I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you.” [Luke 6:27-28]

 … We have no excuse, in other words, but to see all people as neighbors, as kin – as I proposed last week. Our country is founded on the principle that all are welcome, that all should be treated fairly, with kindness. Yet, there are lots of examples of refusals to be neighborly toward some group of people or other.

What can we do in the face of such behavior? We can do our best to follow Jesus’, and Lady Liberty’s, example, loving all, welcoming all, and remembering that none of us is perfect. And we can follow other examples of living like Jesus.

 One of the best ambassadors of neighborliness is Fred Rogers. His TV show and way of life demonstrated that all are our neighbors. Many of you will remember that Mr Rogers shows aired beginning in 1968, and that it was a time of great civil unrest. Fred Rogers wanted to take a stand against such prejudice.

In many places, only white people were allowed in community swimming pools. This 1969 episode, which showed Mr Rogers and Officer Clemmons putting their feet in the same water in a child’s swimming pool, was groundbreaking. Fred went even further. He offered to share his towel. And then, he dried Officer Clemmons’ feet. It was scandalous, to some folks. 

Later, Francois Clemmons reflected on this moment. He says he'll never forget the day Rogers wrapped up the program, as he always did, by hanging up his sweater and saying, "You make every day a special day just by being you, and I like you just the way you are." This time in particular, Rogers had been looking right at Clemmons, and after they wrapped, he walked over.

Clemmons asked him, "Fred, were you talking to me?" … "Yes, I have been talking to you for years," Rogers said, as Clemmons recalls. "But you heard me today." … "It was like telling me I'm OK as a human being," Clemmons says. "That was one of the most meaningful experiences I'd ever had."

 … It should not be too hard for us to be good neighbors, according to Moses. God’s word is written in our entire beings. But we are crafty people, and the contrary spirit within us resists the good one. We find ways to not be neighborly. Sometimes, it’s little things, annoyances. But sometimes, we follow the crowd and think of a group of people as “not our neighbors.” We apply labels to them. I won’t list them, but you know what they are.

This week, I pray that you will pay attention to how neighborly you are. When are you tempted to name someone as “not your neighbor?” How do you respond when someone calls someone else “not a neighbor?” Also consider: How many ways are you a good neighbor?  Amen