ON THE SEARCH FOR NEIGHBORS
During the past year, I’ve traveled to some pretty interesting places on behalf of The Back to God Hour. I’ve walked the streets of cities that number over 20 million people. I’ve been packed into subways in Tokyo. I?ve traveled in bumper—to—bumper traffic through narrow streets of Jakarta. I’ve looked out across the slums, the favelas as they are called, of Sao Paulo, Brazil. I’ve visited temples and shrines where men and women go through the motions to win good luck or appease their gods. I have been awed by the great wealth of some—and the grinding poverty of so many others. And I’ve asked myself—How can I—just one person—relate to so many? Children who may never even have the opportunity to begin grade school. Youth who wonder whether they have a future just at the time when life should be most exciting. Elderly who fear the suffering their declining years might bring. How can I relate to so many people?
You may not have traveled as many miles as I this past year.—but the question may have pressed in on you too. Maybe you’re one of the privileged North American middle class who naively thought everyone lived with the conveniences you enjoy. Your milk is kept cold in the refrigerator, your apartment enjoys central air in the heat of summer, your home theater system provides you the best entertainment on those weekend evenings when you just feel like staying home. But then you went on a work project with your church or school. Or maybe you got out of college and volunteered a year with the Peace Corps. You got out beyond your comfort zone and you discovered people who didn’t even know that running water existed. You built a community center, put up a school, but you came back home and you couldn’t escape the nagging question—now that I know about a bigger world out there—how am I to continue to relate to these folk whose needs are so great ?
Or maybe you don’t need to volunteer your time to discover life on the other side of the tracks. You live there. You look out your window and you watch the pushers dealing drugs. Someone down the street from you got killed last week in a drive—by shooting. In fact, everyone around you seems to be in such pain. So many people in need! How big can your circle of care get?
A VISIT WITH A LAWYER
Luke tells us about a lawyer Jesus meets who asks him precisely that question. This young teacher of the law shows up to banter with Jesus—perhaps even to put Jesus on the spot. Some people are like that when it comes to religion. For them it’s not so much a search for truth as a source of endless debate.
I served one summer as counselor to a youth group that was doing door—to—door canvassing. One of the teens shared her faith with a gentleman who sparred with this young Christian for over an hour. By the time she got back to the group, she was in tears. Everything she said had been twisted. She had spent an hour on a merry—go—round of warped logic. You see, this gentleman hadn’t any serious questions. He was just toying with a young Christian and putting his agnosticism on display. He’s not the only one who has talked about religion for the sake of debate, rather than for the sake of truth.
THE DUEL
Well, this lawyer has a similar wiring. He intends to ?test’ Jesus. As an expert in religious law, he has come with a question that he thinks is open to some endless debate. “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?“
Now, that question offers endless possibilities for debate. To any answer, this well—versed scribe can offer an alternative. If Jesus says, “Trust God,“ our expert will ask about the law. If Jesus says, “Obey Torah,“ this expert can quote verses from the psalms about repentance. If Jesus says “Repent,“ our expert can explore the need for trust in Yahweh. Oh, the endless possibilities! This expert can toy with Jesus all day!
Well, wishful thinking! For the response of Jesus’ disarms him. Jesus doesn’t give an answer—he asks a question of his own! “Can you tell me,“ says Jesus, “what is written in the law?“ Now, the answer to that question was literally before the eyes of a Pharisee. For in Jesus’ day, every devout Pharisee wore what was called phylacteries. Phylacteries were little black calf—skin boxes, held together with leather thongs. One was worn on the wrist, another in the middle of the forehead. They were worn as a literal response to the command that the Israelites bind God’s law as a sign upon their hand and a reminder upon the forehead.
In those boxes were placed little bits of parchment, on which were written Bible texts. And do you know what texts were written on those parchments? Deuteronomy 6:5—— “Love the Lord with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.“ And Leviticus 19:18—“Love your neighbor as yourself.“
The lawyer must give an answer. If he doesn’t he will look like a fool. Jesus has asked a question as plain as the little black box on his forehead. And when he does, Jesus merely follows up with a quote from Leviticus 18: “Do this, and you shall live.“ Do you crave the life of the world to come? Do you want to taste that life already today? Then love God and your neighbor. Love God with a love that sets him above all other priorities in life. Love God with a love that leads us to serve our neighbor as we would serve ourselves.
Trapped! That is what has happened to our friend, the lawyer. Trapped in his own little game.
A NEIGHBORLY QUESTION
But at the last moment, this shrewd scholar slips through a crack and finds a way out of his bind. Casting his thoughts about, he hits upon a question of his own: “Good Master, who is my neighbor?“ Now, that is a real question—you can almost hear the rabbi say—— Yes, a real question! Here is a question that can be debated endlessly. Is my neighbor only the man down the street? How about around the corner? How far down the road before neighbors aren’t neighbors anymore? And how about family? Are THEY neighbors? And what about the people with whom I work? Are THEY neighbors? For that matter do you define neighbors by ethnicity, by geography, by nationality? Who is my neighbor?
Have you ever noticed that we can avoid DOING the right thing by DEBATING the right thing? If you look closely, you’ll see that the whole idea of neighbor for this lawyer was a matter of limits. It was all about fences. If some people were in—then others were out. And by debating the question of where to build the fence, he could avoid the hard work of loving neighbors indefinitely.
This is always a dangerous game for would—be disciples to play. I have known people who have never gotten around to witnessing for their faith because they were too busy getting their theology of evangelism right. I have met people who never got around to even believing in Jesus because they had to satisfy their every spiritual curiosity before trusting the Savior. Yes, it’s easy to justify doing nothing when you complain that you just don’t have all the answers yet!
ON THE JERICHO ROAD
What’s Jesus’ response? Well, Jesus tells a story—a story about a man traveling down from Jerusalem to Jericho. The Jericho road just wasn’t safe. This was not a road you traveled alone if you could find someone going your way. If you were stuck as a lone traveler, you would always be listening for the sound of footsteps coming up behind you.
Now in Jesus’ story, there is a lone traveler who didn’t listen closely enough, who didn’t walk fast enough. This poor traveler falls among thieves. They rob him, they beat him, and they leave him lying on the side of the road in such a pathetic state that to the casual onlooker, you didn’t know whether he’s dead or alive.
TRAVELER NUMBER 1
But now there is a glimmer of hope. Who should be coming down the road but a Jerusalem priest. If this poor man has the strength to open one eye, no doubt he is already giving thanks. Here comes an angel of mercy.
But this clergyman doesn’t quite see himself destined for heroic action today. As he comes a little closer, the adrenalin flows. His heart beats faster. His pace quickens. Who knows whether the same robbers who pulled off this mugging are still in the vicinity? It’s not a good idea to loiter on this stretch of road.
Moreover, who is to say the man is even alive? Priests who handle corpses defile themselves. What a hassle to go through the purification rites. Easier to leave the whole mess to someone else.
TRAVELER NUMBER 2
Now, as his footsteps fade, the sound of another solitary traveler begins to faintly echo down the path. This time, it’s a Levite. Levites belonged to lesser religious orders than priests. If the first man was clergy you might consider the second traveler akin to an un—ordained church worker. The status is different. The outcome is the same.
Now, you may consider these two travelers immoral brutes. In fact, if you are rather down on preachers and church leaders you might consider this a deserved slur on people who too often say one thing and do another. But frankly, if you met those two men under different social situations, I don’t think you would have thought them such horrid members of the human race. I think you would probably find those two men much like everyone else. What kept those two travelers from showing concern was something that operates in our own lives most of the time. Something we call self—interest.
Do you know the problem we have with caring for people? People like us—who have limited time and finite resources——have to stop doing something else in order to show care. And that ?something else’ is what we prefer doing. We don’t want to be late to an appointment. We’ve only got so much money in our pocket and we’ve already decided how to spend it. And now along comes this victim by the side of the road and everything needs to change! It’s just so intrusive. It’s just so inconvenient!
THE BIG SURPRISE
But now, there comes a third traveler. It’s likely that Jesus’ audience have it figured out who this third guy is going to be. If the first traveler was a preacher, and the second traveler a religious worker in the temple, then the third man should be an ordinary guy—a layman. What a great story this will turn out to be! The little guy on the bottom of the social ladder gets one up on those at the top of the pyramid.
And behold, says Jesus, A SAMARITAN! And there are gasps among the crowd. A Samaritan comes along the road. And he stops. And he reaches out his hand. And he touches—he touches!—this Jew. He anoints the wounds, binds the cuts, places him on his own donkey—and carries him to an inn. And then he reaches into his pocketbook and says—here, here is money to care for him until I return. And if his care runs more than this, I will pay when I return.
And what led him to do all this? Compassion. Compassion. This Samaritan, who would be considered the least candidate to qualify as a neighbor, is different from those who have come before. Not because of his social standing, no he had no real social standing. Not because of his wealth or lack of it. He was different because he had compassion.
According to Jesus, compassion is a big deal for disciples. And I’ll tell you why. Because compassion is one of the powerful ways disciples look like their Master. I was reading through the gospels some time ago. And the word that kept popping up again and again in the ministry of Jesus was ?compassion.’ Matthew 9:36—“When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them“ Matthew 14:14—“Jesus had compassion on them and healed their sick.“ Mark 8:2—Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people . . .“ Compassion. Compassion is what turned the crowds into Jesus’ neighbors.
And now here. Compassion is the key to unpacking the meaning of neighbor. For after the murmuring of the crowd dies away, Jesus asks a question: “Which of these three is a neighbor to the man who fell into the clutches of the robber?“ Now we say——wait a minute, Jesus—you got it wrong. That wasn’t the lawyer’s question. He asked, “Who IS my neighbor?“ But Jesus says—“Wrong question. The right question is this: Who SHOWED HIMSELF TO BE A NEIGHBOR?“
Jesus is saying there really is no answer to the question “Who is my neighbor?“ It’s one of those nonsense questions—like asking how to fit a square peg into a round hole. Asking who’s my neighbor is a question not worth debating. The only question that matters is this—to whom have I shown myself to be a neighbor?
A NEIGHBORLY QUESTIONS OF OUR OWN
Now, let me ask you—If your community conducted a little survey and asked folks to write down who had shown themselves to be a neighbor during the past year, whose names would you put on your list? Or to put it another way—Who has been your neighbor? Who has shown you mercy?
I suspect that in the past year there have been times when you found yourself lying by the side of the road, rather beat up by life. It happens to all of us. We get chewed up by our job. We go through misery in our family. Life just gets tough. And then someone comes along side of us and puts an arm underneath us and lifts us up. Who was that to you? Were you surprised by their identity? Maybe it was someone you didn’t expect. Someone you thought was beneath you. Someone you thought was the last candidate to win an award for neighborliness. But when you needed him most, there he was, there she was——dressing your wounds.
Now let me ask another question. On that list of neighbors that others have drawn up—would your name appear? I can tell you how many times your name would be on the list of those around you. It’s the number of times you have been moved to compassion. It was the number of times you reached out beyond yourself, outside yourself———to touch someone with the love of God. The number of times you were willing to be inconvenienced for someone who needed your care. And my friends, that compassion has no geographical boundaries, no ethnic lines.
When I was in the subway in Tokyo, I was standing shoulder to shoulder with my neighbors. As I walked the streets of Jakarta, I was among my neighbors. Jesus’ question to me is not who is my neighbor. His question is simply this: to whom will I be a neighbor? In whose life will I show compassion because the love of God works in me and through me.
Neighbors are like us. But neighbors are also different from us. For neighbors don’t just live across the street. They are found in local jails. And down at the half—way houses. They are found hospitalized in mental institutions. They are lying on their backs in nursing homes. They are hungry and starving on the streets of Calcutta. They have distended bellies in the country of Dafur. These are all my neighbors.
As disciples of Jesus we live in a world—wide neighborhood. We have neighbors everywhere. We do, if we open our eyes to see them.
Robert Heerspink
Rev. Robert Heerspink is a native of west Michigan. He completed his undergraduate studies at Calvin College and holds the degrees of Master of Divinity and Master of Theology from Calvin Theological Seminary. He has also received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Bob was ordained a minister of the Word in the Christian Reformed Church of North America in 1979, and has 26 years of parish experience, having served four churches throughout west Michigan. He was appointed the Director of The Back to God Hour in 2006. Bob has written several resources related to congregational stewardship, including the book, Becoming a Firstfruits Congregation. He is a regular contributor to TODAY, the monthly devotional of The Back to God Hour. Bob is married to Edith (Miedema) and they have three children. His hobbies include reading fictional and historical works, watersports, and occassional golfing.
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