How to be a Good Neighbor

Erik preached on the parable of the Good Samaritan, one of the most familiar pieces of Jesus’s teaching. He focused on the questions the lawyer asked Jesus, and the (different) questions Jesus chose to answer:

…the key thing is how the question changes. What makes the good Samaritan good is that he doesn’t ask the lawyer’s question: Who is my neighbor? Instead, he asks: How can I be a neighbor? The difference is subtle. You might notice that the second question presumes an answer to the first: not exactly that everyone is one’s neighbor, but anyone might be one’s neighbor, even a stranger or an enemy. But the question “how” completely reverses the perspective of the question of “who.” First, the focus shifts from others to you: not do they qualify as your neighbors, but do you qualify as their neighbor? And second, the focus shifts from status to action: being a neighbor is not about how close you live or similar your culture is; certainly not about skin color or nationality or religion; it is about what you do. “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” Neighborliness is not about their status; it’s about your action.