Are You Ready For An Insightful And Eternal Change In Your Neighborhood?
Good Morning Friends,
As a kid I remember watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood not realizing at the time that the man in the sweater was a Presbyterian Minister. I remember the comforting words, “You are special. You are loved. I like you, and I hope you like you, too!” Ok they are a bit sappy and I have outgrown them in a way but also have grown into them. The neighborhood Mr. Rogers imagined was so reassuring. Fred McFeely Rogers, better known to us as Mister Rogers
was compassionate about portraying a good neighbor on television. God turned the trapped energy of his ministerial background into action. He turned simply acts of kindness and love into a television series about being a neighbor. The beauty is that the message was also about Christ redeeming culture. I find it intriguing that by living scripture Mr. Rogers found a better route to ministry than he would have in the pulpit of a traditional institution. I think Jesus’ hope was that we would each reach out with the same spirit of love of the Good Samaritan as we through our actions share the invitation with everyone we meet to be part of something greater than ourselves. Are You Ready For A Profound, Deep And Eternal Change In Your Neighborhood?
Scripture: Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 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.” But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:25-37 (NRSV)
Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?” He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?” He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.” “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.” Looking for a loophole, he asked, “And just how would you define ‘neighbor’?” Jesus answered by telling a story. “There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man. “A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’ “What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?” “The one who treated him kindly,” the religion scholar responded. Jesus said, “Go and do the same.”
Luke 10:25-37 (The Message)
Message: Looking back on my childhood I would have to say that Mister Rogers made his life into a sermon about being a good neighbor. Maybe that was his television character and maybe it was the real man. Maybe the television character became the real man. Regardless there is a philosophy about life in the scripture today and in the character of Mister Rogers that embodies the hope that we might too might write ourselves into the profound story of being a good neighbor. Here our dream should be changed, in the hands of God, to an even bigger dream…. not just catch fish but catch men… not just stand on the bank or wade in the shallows but discover the dynamics and power in the deep water of risking a relationship. We are to risk enough to experience real life. Friends, where there is danger in the deeper level of life, there is God’s grace. Like repentance we are not looking for incremental change but a profound one which we do not control. Friends, Christian faith assures us that life finds its deepest meaning through relationships with other persons and most profoundly, with God. Our greatest joys and our greatest sorrows so often come through human relationships. When things are right in our human relationships, there is a sense of well-being and of fulfillment. When things are wrong in our human relationships, there is frustration, emptiness, and loneliness. Friends, my advice is to find time to experience the bigger dream God has prepared for you. Yes, embrace a life that is willing to go deeper even if the risk is a little frightening. Be prepared when Jesus comes calling you to not just success but significance. Be a good neighbor to even the outsider. The message of Christ about neighbors is that everyone can be an example of compassion. I think Jesus’ hope was that we would each reach out with the same spirit of love of the Good Samaritan as we through our actions share the invitation with everyone we meet to be part of something greater than ourselves.
And So, today’s scripture defines neighbor through a story, but I think it also is defined in the person of Christ and so too in the lives of those who follow in His Way. The take away is that people have always struggled with the face of diversity and power, but compassion changes the dynamic. The story of the Good Samaritan illustrates this message of our need to comfort, encourage and gives us courage on the journey to experience God in unexpected places. Notice in the story that we are led to feel compassion not in a temple but on the Wilderness Road. Notice that compassion does something in our lives, that it creates in us a feeling so deep that it must be expressed. Realize that compassion costs us something. It is not free. Understand that compassion demonstrates our relationship to God regardless of the form of its delivery. See in this story of compassion the great commandment… a Jesus on the cross, where the sinless is paired with the sin…where love is paired with pain…where mercy is combined with justice. Friends…neighbors…it may take reason, risk and faith, but the reward is life is experiencing compassion and acting on it. That is being a good neighbor. There are three philosophies of life illustrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan as an answer to the lawyer testing Jesus. They reflect Jesus’ deep understanding of us in the characters of the robber, the priest and the good Samaritan…..”What’s yours is mine and I’ll take it.” “What’s mine is mine and I’ll keep it.” And, “What’s mine is ours and we’ll share it. Here In the story Jesus teaches us to change from a shallow expression of life into a deeper one.
Pray we repent and acknowledge that change is needed. Pray we not accept things as they are but make a deep change in our lives. Pray we face our fears and be open to failure, experimentation, and uncertainty. Pray we experience a deep change that glorifies God.
Pray we forgive our neighbors when they are not neighborly. Pray we invest in the next generation of neighbors. Pray we have the character of strength in us that has the courage to be a good neighbor. Pray we honor a neighbor’s solitude but not their loneliness. Pray that we realize that peace with our neighbors is not the opposite of war. Pray we have neighbors who we love and help us through difficult times of life. Pray we strive to accept our neighbors exactly as they are right now. Pray we honestly value our neighborhood. Pray we have an intrinsic value for the uniqueness of each of our neighbors. Pray we have neighbors who help us to confront our feelings of sadness and anger bringing a sense of comfort. Pray we have neighbors who help in all sorts of ways but especially in helping others find fulfillment in their lives. Pray we have neighbors who make constructive choices about what to do with their feelings. Pray we have neighbors who grow in the face of pain even as they help. Pray we have neighbors who are heroes that care for the outcasts. Pray we are the kind of neighbor we would pray to experience as our own neighbor. Pray we realize that the real issue of life is not how many blessings we have but what we do with our blessings on our journey.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 