Who is My Neighbor?
by Rev. Dr. Amy Chilton on 11/01/24
When my 18 year daughter was little, I loved making Halloween costumes for her. One year she was a cowgirl, complete with pearl snap buttons and leather cowgirl boots. That year we went to a harvest party at my grad school that included pony rides and she had to match! One year she was a dragon and I was a princess. One year she was Rosy the Riveter and I was a victory gardener. Another year she was a Park Ranger and I was a hiker. Those days of her letting us match were great! When she was really little I really did not like the idea of her taking candy from strangers, so we didn’t trick-or-treat but we always dressed up.
I do now embrace our children reveling in the joyous generosity of strangers on Halloween. Think about it, on what other night do you knock on a stranger's door let alone do so with the reasonable expectation that if their light is on they will greet you with excitement and a gift?!
In Luke 10 when a lawyer was trying to trip up Jesus by asking who his neighbor was, Jesus responded with the story of the Good Samaritan. In that story, a man is waylaid by robbers who beat and mug him and leave him for dead. Of all the people who pass by, it is only the one who stops and helps that man who is lifted up as the example of one who loves God and their neighbor. Who are the lawyers' neighbors? Anyone who needs mercy. And what is the lawyer to do? Show mercy to his neighbors.
I think we all agree that our country is in a lot of turmoil right now as we are being pitted against one another in the battle for the White House. No matter what happens next week, our job as Christians remains the same. That job, in the words of Jesus to the lawyer, is this: “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” (Luke 10:27).
Sometimes I think of loving my neighbor as loving others only in moments when someone is under duress - such as the man left for dead in the parable Jesus told. But, loving your neighbor is also to “rejoice with those who rejoice” (Romans 9:15a). It is feeding the hungry and handing out candy to the eager children knocking on your door - loving one’s neighbor is bigger than only responding to need.
Friends, tonight when you open your door for the umpteenth time and drop a Three Musketeers or Peanut Butter Cup (because those are the best!) into the hands of a ghost or Mario, I hope you feel the joy of being a present and generous neighbor to strangers. I pray that joyous generosity spreads to the other 364 days of the year.
Who is the good neighbor? The one who shows mercy.
Blessings,
Pastor Amy?
