Kingdom Building
July 14, 2019
Scripture Reading: Luke 10:25-37
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 travelling 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 10:29-37
The lawyer seems to see his faith as a business deal. Rather than treat everyone as his neighbor, he wants to know the minimum requirement. “Tell me exactly who I must love as I love myself so I can have eternal life.” Jesus essentially answers the question with a story that asks, “Who is not your neighbor?”
For a few years a major dispute has been continuing in a neighboring city about converting a golf course into a place for more needed housing. Now I understand that avid golfers might want to live close to a club and would miss it when it is gone. I even understand that living next to a good golf course might increase the value of property. That said, are the people in need of housing our neighbors and are we responsible for assuring that they have affordable, accessible housing available? Probably the more important question is “Do I want to live across the street from housing that is classified as equal opportunity?”
What we do not recognize is the fact that if we loved our neighbors as we loved ourselves the value of our property would not be impacted by whoever moves in next door.
Prayer: Lord, help us understand that our values are constructs of our making and that it is our values and not yours that we are applying when we esteem our worth greater than any other persons worth. Forgive us and show us the way to place your values first in our lives. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved. Most of us would have no problem being kind to our neighbors because we choose to live in neighborhoods made up of people who look and live a lot like we do.