Sunday, July 28, 2013

WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR?

preached by Esther Baerends on July 14th, 2013


Today’s Scripture reading from Luke is probably one of Jesus’ most well-known parables; the story of the Good Samaritan. Unlike some of the more obscure parables that Jesus tends to tell, this one seems to be fairly clear and straightforward. A lawyer asks Jesus, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” A question which Jesus does not just answer; but rather empowers the lawyer to answer his own question since he is a man of the law.  The law says that we must love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our mind; and to love our neighbour as our self. This, I think, is probably one of the most well-known verses from the Bible. The lawyer is not quite satisfied with his own answer however. He questions Jesus by asking “who is my neighbour?”

When I first read through that verse, I do not think that I would necessarily ask clarification on who my neighbour is. My first thought would be that my neighbour is someone who lives close to me, someone that I may see once in a while, but may perhaps not know as well as a friend. Even the dictionary defines a neighbour first and foremost as “one living or located near another.” But the closer we look at the lawyer’s question, the more I see the wisdom behind it. What truly defines a neighbour? As soon as Jesus starts telling his parable about a man who was robbed, beaten and left for dead along a road already makes our contemporary definition of a neighbour seem less than adequate. This gives cause for some re-thinking about what a neighbour truly is.

We can also look at it from an active perspective; what does being neighbourly really mean? I see being neighbourly as being there for, and helping other people, not matter who they are. Unfortunately this does not seem to come instinctively to everybody. It depends on our own self-awareness and our own beliefs. This is one of the twists of the story I think. The people in the parable that we would expect to act neighbourly, because of the beliefs that they are defined by, turn out not helping the poor, hurt man lying at the side of the road. Both the priest and the Levite were Jewish clergy and so, knowing the religious texts to some degree, should have known that God would have wanted them to help the poor man. Instead it is a Samaritan, a foreigner who lends a hand to the poor man; brings him to a safe place, clothes him, makes sure he’s fed. Now it is said that Jews and Samaritans were not on very friendly terms with one another, yet it is a Samaritan who ends up helping a Jew. So why didn’t the Priest or the Levite stop to help the injured man? Did they think it was “beneath” them? Or were they to busy? Or did they perhaps know the man, but because he had a questionable past, they denied him their care? The story doesn’t say why those two did not stop to help the hurt man but it does not leave us with a good impression of them.

What I really like about Godly Play stories, like the one we just heard, is that they tend to ask interesting questions about the story. One of the questions that wasn’t asked at the end of the story was… I wonder, what would happen if the characters in the story were women and not men? Though women in the Bible were not really seen as persons, there are still some really interesting stories about remarkable women. Women had a different role in society. They listened to their husbands/brothers/fathers and were dependent on them to survive, yet their role was generally to be homemakers. If the people on the road had been women, would they have still passed by a wounded person at the side of the road? Many stories in the Bible talk about women giving water to total strangers; helping out men and their flock. Would that be indicative of how they would treat the hurt stranger? Would they help out of a sense of servitude, or out of a sense of caring for others? Would it be harder, or perhaps just as easy for them to pass the stranger by?

The second question is…What would happen if it was a child who came upon the wounded traveler? Would the child have just passed by? Or would a child have stopped and helped the man in any way they could? Even children would be able to help someone out in one way or another. I remember when a friend of mine told me the story and she and her younger sister came upon a man who had been hit on his motorcycle. It was she and her sister who ended up calling for help and tending to the hurt man awaiting paramedics while the man who had hit him with a semi was on the phone worrying about other business. The point is that even children can help those in need. Though we can often dismiss children because they might not know enough about something, they also often have a habit of proving people wrong. Of showing how resilient and resourceful they can be in times of trouble.

Though it is hard to ask “what if” questions because they often do not come with answers, it is still important to see things from different perspectives. I find that the story of the Good Samaritan shows that everyone has what it takes to help one another. It does not have to be people who are of a so called “higher moral character.” After all we are all human.

 To bring in verses from Colossians, as Paul reminds the people in Colossae, inside of all of us, the seed has already been planted. God has shown us a way to live with one another, through the example set by Jesus. It is up to us to let that wisdom and knowledge grow and bear fruit. It is through the nurturing of the fruits of the Spirit that are inside each and every one of us that we find we have what it takes to help those around us. Take for example, how everyone came together to help out all of those that were affected by the flooding in Southern Alberta. It didn’t matter if they were literally our neighbours, it didn’t matter who they were. What mattered was that they are people just like us, fallen on hard times by no fault of their own.

So being a neighbour does not constitute living in close proximity to one another, rather it is can be defined as those people that need our care and support. And though we all have different skills and strengths, we can help others in some way. As people of change, not only do our surroundings change, but we do as well, along with our beliefs. For me my clinical pastoral education course at the hospital has been such a time of change. One major thing that I have learned is that everyone needs help, in some form or another, no matter who they are or what they may have done.  It can be something big, like taking in a stranger who has been robbed and beaten and caring for him until he is well again like the traveler in the parable; Or is can be something as simple as companioning with someone during a tough time. I have also found that during these times of change it is important to re-examine yourself. To be in tune again with ones beliefs, strengths and weaknesses.

So I would challenge you all to think about two things: what fruits of the Spirit would you consider to be your strengths/ your weaknesses? And what is your definition of neighbour?

Let us pray:
Creator God,

You have made us to be amazing, yet such complex creations. You also created us for community with one another. Help remind us of that communion so that we may be more mindful of those around us and what they may need from us. Help us to be aware of the gifts that we have to offer others. For we all have the ability to make a difference in someone’s life, no matter how big or small.

In Jesus name we pray,

Amen.

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