Across the Pastor’s Desk by Josh Enderson

 

“Who is my neighbor?” is a central question in Luke’s gospel. It is always there, lurking in the background of every interaction. But in Luke 10, this question comes to the center as a young lawyer asks Jesus about how he can inherit eternal life.

To answer this question, Jesus tells the young man the famous parable of the good samaritan: A traveler is beaten up by bandits on the road and left for dead. A priest walks by and does not help. Later, a levite (or a temple assistant) walks by and also ignores the man.

Finally, a samaritan, a man from a despised and hated people, someone whom the first hearers of this story would have sneered at when they heard his ethnicity mentioned, walks by and takes pity on the man. He helps him up, bandages his wounds, takes him to an inn and pays for his stay and care.

After this story, Jesus turns to the man and asks him which one was the neighbor to the man in need.

“The one who showed him mercy,” the man replies. “Go and do likewise,” Jesus says.

We live in a time when we do not know our neighbors anymore. “Who is my neighbor?” is a real question for most of us. I can honestly say that I know the names of a few of my neighbors, but not all of them. There are some I have never even met.

However, it is not just the strangers living next door to us that we do not know anymore. Many of us do not get to truly know those whom we grow up with: our relatives, our siblings, our classmates. We may think we know them. But what we do most of the time is, instead of actually getting to know them, we pigeonhole them into who we want them to be and ignore who they actually are.

“Who is my neighbor?” It does not matter, because we can make our neighbor into whomever we want them to be.

Yes, Jesus’ parable about the good samaritan is about helping out someone in need. But it is also about seeing the humanity of another person. It is about seeing them for who they are.

They are not something to be exploited. They are not something to be taken advantage of. They are not something to just be ignored. They are a human being, in need of love and mercy and compassion. So, go and do likewise. Go and see your neighbors. Say hi. Get to know them. You may be surprised at the amazing people God has placed right next door!

Josh Enderson is a pastor at Hayward Lutheran Church.