The Good Neighbor

Well, Truth Stories is our current message series in the parables of Jesus. My name is Mark and good morning. Make a good morning, all of you open the balcony. Thank you very much. So right, I just wanna welcome all of you here live and joining us on our live stream. We are so glad that you are with us today. And then aren't we not blessed to have someone like Trent Smith who can just write songs, like it's like a magic trick or something, like it's amazing. And I think that second song is imminently singable, Trent, if you're listening right now.

I'm also very happy to report that if you were with us last week, I had to sit in a chair, 'cause I had this inner ear thing, it was throwing off my equilibrium. And it is much, much better. See, look, I can stand, ooh, one foot even. So thank you for your concern, for your prayers. I just genuinely felt so loved by you. And so thank you.

Well, talk about showing care and concern for other people. I came across truly an amazing example of this, an event that happened in a New York City subway station back in 2007. On the New York City subway, it's hard enough finding someone who will give up his seat to a stranger, let alone be willing to give up his life for one. 50-year-old Wesley Autry, a construction worker and Navy veteran, was standing on a subway platform with his two little girls when right in front of them, a man started having a seizure. He kind of stumbled over his own feet and fell backwards.

I see a train coming, but the train is so close, I'm like, what do I do? Wesley jumped onto the tracks and thought if he could just lie on top of the man, keep him from flailing, maybe the train would roll right over both of them. The clearance was exactly 21 inches. Wesley and the man, 20 and a half. No way the train can stop before this gentleman could get him up off the tracks. So he covered him with his body and pushed him down to a point where the train wouldn't hit his head and held him down under the tracks while the train came and rolled right over the top of him.

It gave Wesley's children the scare of their young lives. I thought he was going to get killed. And Wesley, the scare of his, too. I'm like, talk to him, sir, you can't move. I got two kids up here looking for their father to come back. I don't know you, you don't know me, but listen, don't panic. You know, I'm here to save you. As for the guy Wesley saved, he's 20-year-old Cameron Hallepter, and other than a few scrapes and bruises, his father says he's doing fine. Mr. Autry's instinctive and unselfish act saved our sense of life.

You know, the word "hero" gets thrown around a lot nowadays. What a better way to say it to start off the New Year than to save a life. Hero, man. Nice to be reminded of what one really looks like. Wow. How incredible is that? I mean, that is a hero, a good Samaritan. And over centuries, we've used that term to describe people who go out of their way to help others. And of course, this goes back to a parable that Jesus told about a Samaritan man.

And just think about how influential that story has been because there's good Samaritan hospitals, which are part of a larger good Samaritan health care network. We have good Samaritan laws. There are relief organizations like Samaritan's Purse, Global Samaritan, International Samaritan, The Good Samaritan Society. And even years ago, there was an order of Samaritans and daughters of Samaria that was founded by African-Americans so that they could help out their brothers and sisters during the Jim Crow era.

And if you happen to, you know, jump in front of a speeding train to cover up someone and save their life, you might be called, among other things, a good Samaritan, right? Well, I'm pretty sure most of us aren't going to have to do something that dramatic. But every day, in very ordinary ways, most often, you and I can be a good Samaritan by being a good neighbor because, after all, that's what he was doing.

And would you agree the world could use just a little bit more of that kind of care and kindness? I mean, right now, what do you think most people are feeling? Worry, fear, dread over war in Ukraine and rising global tensions. There's pandemic fatigue. There's deep political and cultural divides that just seem to get deeper and deeper, not to mention skyrocketing inflation. I mean, I was relieved just driving in today to see that you can get gasoline for less than $6 a gallon that Safeway up the street. Wow, who would have thought that would have been cause for celebration, huh?

Meanwhile, in the first half of this year, we've seen the worst stock market since 1970, over 50 years. Someone said, my 401(k) is doing so badly, it's become a 201(k). Any of you relate to that? Well, what can Christians do during such trying times? What are we called to do? Well, first of all, we need to remember that our hope isn't built on the stock market or whatever is going on geopolitically. Our hope is built on Jesus Christ. Amen? And nothing less. One advantage of times like this, we're reminded of that. We're going to lean further into that.

But the second thing that we can do, we can do what Christians have done since the very beginning. We love others. We love others. When Rome began its long fall, Roman senators would say of Christians, see how they love. Wow. What an impression that they made. And no one really knows if we're on the cusp of some kind of long fall or if things will turn around and be brighter in a year, two, three, something like that. But one thing's for sure, you and I, we could have an impact just like those first Christians did. You believe that?

Well, then let's talk about it. We're going to be in Luke chapter 10, verses 25 through 37. And I'm going to read this straight through. So I'm going to just invite you to let the story wash over you. And if you want to follow along, the verses are in your message notes. They're going to be on screen. And they're also in your Bible. So you can use that as well. Luke 10, starting at verse 25. This is the word of God.

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question. Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus replied, what does the law of Moses say? How do you read it? The man answered, you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. Right, Jesus told him, do this and you will live.

Well, the man wanted to justify his actions. So he asked Jesus, and who is my neighbor? Jesus replied with a story. A man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. By chance, a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by.

A temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. Then a Samaritan came along. And when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he took care of him.

The next day, he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I'll pay you the next time I'm here. Now, which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits? The man replied, the one who showed him mercy. Then Jesus said, yes, now go and do the same.

First century Jews lived in anticipation of the kingdom of God coming to earth, where God's rule would be fully established and all creation would be transformed evil, death, decay, done away with. And the faithful resurrected to new life in this new, glorious era. Now, as an expert in the religious law, this man would fully expect to be part of all of this. And so when Jesus-- so when he asked Jesus, what must I do to inherit eternal life, he's not asking, how do I go to heaven when I die? His question is designed to test Jesus. And he's not asking us because he feels a need for reassurance, if you will.

But instead, Jesus exposes what's really going on in this man's heart. What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it? And this guy gives the perfect Sunday school answer. "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, all your strength, and all your mind." And this is part of what's called the Shema, from the Hebrew word to hear. It's a quote from Deuteronomy 6. And it's something that pious Jews would say two times a day. It is really their pledge of allegiance to God. And because love and loyalty to God is also expressed in love to others, he adds, "and love your neighbor as yourself." And when he does, Jesus says, "A-plus. Now go and do this."

And by the way, Jesus is not saying something that was popularized by Whitney Houston's song, "The Greatest Love of All." Remember this? You've probably heard it about a couple thousand times, right? He's not saying that to love others as yourself is the greatest love of all. Learning to love yourself, that is the greatest love of all. That's how the song goes, right? Well, I'm all for healthy self-esteem. But that's not what loving others like yourself means. It means this. It means that you love others the way you want others to love you, OK? It's closer to the golden rule than it is like, you know, healthy self-esteem or something. Again, nothing wrong with all that.

And this is where this religious expert starts to expose his cards when he says, "OK, well, exactly who is my neighbor, Jesus? I mean, I love people that I like. I love people who are like me, but Jesus, let's face it, there's a lot of unlovable people out there. So, you know, I think we can agree that we love those who are our people and maybe not so much those other people.

You know, back in 2008, a guy named Bill Bishop authored a book called "The Big Sort." Why the clustering of like-minded America is tearing us apart. And it's about how Americans have been sorting themselves into homogenous communities. And not only by just region or state, like red state, blue states, right? It goes down all the way to city and to neighborhoods. And this is what he argues in the book. He says, "We've been choosing our neighborhoods, news shows, and even churches based on the desire for sameness." The result? A country that has become so polarized, so ideologically inbred that people don't know and can't understand those who live just a few miles away, let alone another county or state. And again, he wrote this in 2008. Think he might have been onto something? I kind of do.

Well, same thing's going on here in Luke 10 when this guy asks, "And who is my neighbor?" Why is he doing that? Well, Luke tells us to justify himself, right? He wants to limit the circle of people that he is obligated to care about. Well, how about you? How about me? I mean, really, this parable boils down to this simple truth, who will I love? Who will I be willing to love? And so along these lines, Jesus points out three typical responses to the needs that we see. And the first one is this. It's, keep my distance.

You know, in those days, there were 24 divisions of priests that would serve at the temple in Jerusalem for two weeks each year. That was their assignment. And then they would go home and they'd probably serve in a synagogue or something like that. And so in the story, if you notice, the priest is going from Jerusalem to Jericho. So his two-week stint is over. When I was a kid, it was like, oh, he's so busy. He's on his way to church. He's on his way away from church. And this road from Jerusalem to Jericho, it's 17 miles long and it descends 3,600 feet. It is steep. It is windy. And it is lonely. It is the perfect place for thieves to hide.

Another side. Scholars estimate that up to half of the priests, like this guy in the story, actually lived in Jericho because the cost of housing was much cheaper there. I don't know. I made that up. But it could be true. So again, this is something that the people listening, this is like, oh, yeah, yeah, there's priests that come down that road. Jesus doesn't mention other people with this priest, but it would be unlikely that someone of his position would travel alone. His original audience would imagine this priest traveling with a small caravan for all the obvious reasons, including his protection.

They may have also very well thought that the victim was stupid, foolish for traveling alone and suffering the consequences as a result. But now he's half dead. His life is literally hanging in the balance. Time is ticking, and the priest can't be bothered. He just crosses to the other side. It's like, ever drive down the road and you see some debris ahead, and so you go over to another lane? Well, that's this priest crossing to the other side of the road, as if to like miss a speed bump or a pothole. That's how much he regards this person. He simply keeps his distance.

Now, the second guy, the temple assistant, or in some of your translations, it's a Nazirite, but they're like an assistant priest. His response may have been even worse because in the original language, there's a hint that he actually walks over and looks at the guy on the road before crossing to the other side and going on his way. His response, you might call curious but uninvolved. You know, I have to confess, I was feeling pretty self-righteous about this point in the story until I realized, I do this all the time on the freeway. So do you, right? There's an accident up ahead. Everybody slows down, not because the accident's on their side of the freeway, no, because we're all gawking.

It happens on social media or in our news feeds, where people are just bashing people like this over and over again for our entertainment, kind of playing to the voyeur inside of us, numbing our sensitivities to the point where we're curious, but I'm uninvolved. Third response is from the Samaritan, which is to act with compassion. You may know Samaritans were a despised minority in those days. So Jesus cast the Samaritan as the hero for maximum shock value. Like, let this get your attention, folks. The priest and the temple assistant, they were the religious people. We will love the Lord our God with all our soul, all our might, all our strength, however the order goes. I'm confused on that right now, but you know what I'm saying? All our being is the point. Oh, yeah, but I can't extend to that guy. No, no.

It's challenging if you're a church person. What Jesus is saying in this parable, because the religious folks wouldn't lift a finger for the guy on the road, and yet at the same time, the Samaritan becomes the arms of God. And that's not an overstatement. Kind of reminds me of a fascinating story I read not too long ago. Several years ago, this man named Felix Greterson was severely electrocuted on the job, so much so that doctors had to amputate both his arms, including part of his shoulder on one side. But get this. Just last month, doctors in France performed the first ever double arm and shoulder transplant on this man. Amazing success. Transformational, because now he can hug his wife again. Now he can hold his granddaughter.

And in addition to being just amazed by this, I thought to myself, you know what? This is what the church is supposed to be about, right? Because follow me, the Bible calls us the body of Christ, right? Well, far too often, a lot of people just want to be the mouth. You know what I'm saying? I want to be the mouth telling other people how they should behave. And yet the body of Christ needs arms too. Wouldn't you agree? Amen. And notice this little detail. When Jesus asks the religious expert, yeah, who was the neighbor to the man attacked by bandits? He can't even mouth the word "Samaritan." He says, "The one who showed him mercy." Wow. But grudgingly, just kind of ugh.

And think about it, he started out so sure of himself, so smug in where he was spiritually. And yet Jesus turns to him and says, you really want to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, be like that Samaritan. That's what it looks like. Stop worrying about who's your neighbor and who isn't. Focus instead on who God is calling you to be a neighbor to. And this morning, he says the same thing to us.

So how might we apply this? I want to give you three simple but very powerful truths that we can do to be a neighbor to someone, whether they're across the street or across the globe. And hear me, because I have an underlying premise, which is that there is someone in your life, someone in your sphere of relationships or contacts, who needs a neighbor. There's someone in your world who needs a neighbor, in my world. So the question is, am I willing to be that neighbor? Am I willing to say, Lord, use me like you use the Samaritan? If that's you, let me just share three very simple things.

First of all, good neighbors see the need. It says that, and when he saw him-- that was the Samaritan-- he saw him. Now to be sure, the priest and the temple assistant, they also saw the man, but they saw him as someone to be avoided, not someone to be loved. Ever found yourself in a similar situation? I know this is so challenging at times. Just about a week ago on a Friday night, my wife Laura and I went on a very romantic day to Costco. Yeah. Yeah, we had dinner beforehand at the food court. No, we didn't, but nothing wrong with that.

But there was a guy in the store who, from all appearances, was suffering from mental illness or drug addiction or both. He was having a very animated conversation with himself while he kind of pretended to be shopping. And it's like, what can I do in a situation like that? Is it wise to engage this person right then and there? Probably not. My wife right there. And we've all been in these kinds of very complex situations where we wonder, how can I even be of assistance to a person like that? And I say this, I was thinking this morning while I was praying, my heart really goes out to some of you who have a loved one who's in a situation like that man. This is just other people's problems. This can be some of our own flesh and blood.

But it is, among other reasons, why we participate in Homeless Connect every year so that we can help connect people with the services that they need to help get them out of the situations that they're in. It's why we host mental health conferences with real enthusiasm and buy-in so that we can provide assistance to people and destigmatize some of these issues. It's why we have year-round support groups for people who are suffering with mental illness or their families through our grace groups. And there are both, of course, recovery groups and similar things that we try to do in order to provide a loving response to some of these very complex problems.

And as you participate in this church, you're participating in these things. Remember that the next time you get inundated by just too much information or one problem, one tragedy after the next. Because in those situations, if you're like me, the temptation is just to kind of look the other way, to stick my head in the sand, to ignore these things. But let me just give you some advice. Sometimes we're trying to kind of deal with the problems of the whole wide world when really the better thing to do is just focus on what can I do in the world of just this one person for something very simple, probably, something very basic.

Maybe as you see their need, God's calling you to pray for them on a regular basis. We can all do that. Or He's prompting you to send them a kind word or a note of encouragement. Sometimes, you know what, people just need a plate of cookies. That could make a big difference in their day. Or jumper cables for their dead battery. Something that basically communicates, I see you. I see you. I mean, think of the volunteers in our kids programs right now. They are caring for other people's kids so that those parents can be in this worship service right now. And you won't see them on the nightly news or something like that, but they are heroes. They are neighbors. They are servants to other people, people who showed up early last night and then again this morning to scoop ice cream so that we can have ice cream out in a fog. And I don't know what's better than that, right Val?

Jesus said, look, even if it's a glass of water that you offer in my name, I value that. So ask him to help you see a need that you can respond to. Second thing that good neighbors do is they feel for others. It says that the Samaritan man felt compassion on this man on the road. And sometimes, compassion comes down to just very basic things like listening, for instance. And again, I'm intentionally using very simple things because these are things that we will more likely have the opportunity to do, probably not going to be called upon to jump in front of a speeding train.

But in just a simple way like listening to someone else, you can demonstrate compassion. A man named Joe Bailey wrote a book on grief called A View From A Hearse. How's that for a book title? The View From A Hearse. And from his own grief experience, he shares this. It says, I was sitting torn by grief. And somebody came along and talked to me about God's reasons, about why it happened, of hope beyond the grave. He talked constantly. But I was unmoved, except to wish that he would go away. And he finally did. Then another one came and sat beside me. And he didn't talk at all. He didn't ask me any leading questions. He just sat beside me for an hour or more, listened when I said something, answered briefly, prayed simply, and left. I was moved. I was comforted. I hated to see him go.

One of the greatest gifts that you can give to someone is simply your ear. To just listen and allow yourself in the process to feel their burden. One of our former and much-loved pastors, Dick Jordan, used to remind us over in the office, every so often, we all need our hearts to be broken. Not just by our own grief, but by the grief of others. Because this is how God causes us to grow. It's how he keeps our heart soft. And when this happens, and you do feel the burden of others, and you do, since God calling you and empowering you to reach out in love, you will be compelled to go where love requires, right? Don't do this out of guilt or obligation or drudgery. Out of love.

And everything that the Samaritan man did for the guy on the road started with one first step. He went to him, going over to him. Not just to look at him, but to love him. And from there, by the man's side, he bandages his wounds and puts him on his own donkey and takes him to the inn where he can recover. Because he was willing to go. I have a neighbor who faithfully, one day every month, goes and donates his blood platelets. I see him on those days after a long day's work, climbs into his truck, and he goes to the donation center. Every Wednesday afternoon, there are people in this church, fellow Twin Lakers. They leave their homes, they leave their workplaces, and they come here to serve in our food pantry. They go to where love requires.

And there are so many ways that we can go and make a difference. And if you're-- perhaps that person I suggested that is in your world, that person that hasn't come to mind yet, if you're looking for ideas, I encourage you to go to TLC.org/help because it's not just about receiving help. It's about how we can also offer help. And honestly, I just want to say, I am so humbled by you to a Twin Lakes church because you're so generous with your time, with your skills, with your resources. And you know why that's so humbling? Why that's so thrilling? Because that comes from an understanding of how deeply God loves us, how far he would go in his son to rescue and love us.

Right? You may know, or you may not know probably, but in the early church and for several centuries, the popular interpretation of this parable was that the Samaritan wasn't just an exemplary person. The Samaritan actually represented someone. They saw him as representing Jesus Christ because Jesus is the one that loves and cares for and heals us at his own expense. Right? Like with the Samaritan. And not only that, they had kind of pinned every detail to something, but the other one that's very strong and legitimate is that they saw the inn as the church because that's where Jesus brings us so that we can heal, that we can be nursed back to health, so to speak.

So why would we follow the example of not just the Samaritan, but of Jesus? Well, again, comes back to love. Second Corinthians 5, verses 14 and 15, put it this way. "For Christ's love compels us, and he died for all that those who live should," what? "No longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again." What compels you? What moves you? What drives you? When it is the love of Christ-- you know this-- when it's the love of Christ, you're not going to settle for just mere comfort or ease or convenient. No, no, no. You will not settle for anything less than this type of high, godly calling for your life.

And so ask God to fill your heart with his love. And I'll close with this. Just this week, you probably saw this in the news, but there was an amazing discovery in the art world, a previously undiscovered self-portrait of Vincent van Gogh. He had been hiding in plain sight for over 100 years on the front of a particular painting of his. It's this one right here. It's called "Head of a Peasant Woman." And they were doing a little bit of maintenance on this. And then they discovered on the back side of this same canvas buried underneath cardboard and glue was a self-portrait of the artist himself, van Gogh, a two-sided van Gogh, if you will. And they're like, wow, it's been there for over a century.

And so now what was a very pricey work of art is now a priceless work of art because it bears the image of the master himself. I wonder, how many days do I walk by people person after person after person? And all I see is the peasant woman. Ordinary, unimportant, maybe worn down. When the truth is, she bears the image of the master. She's priceless. She's a masterpiece. And so let's go to our master, the one who has given us his image and his purposes, and ask him a few questions. What do you want me to see this week, Jesus? Who does he want you to see? Who is that person that God might be laying on your heart right now? Got it? OK, good.

Now let's ask ourselves, what do you want me to feel? How can I demonstrate compassion for that person? And then where would you have me go, Lord? How can I follow you into that situation? This week, if you'll ask Jesus these questions, I'm confident he will lead you. Because the bottom line is not who is my neighbor. That's shrinking the field. That's shrinking your heart and turning you inward on yourself. The question is this, who can I be a neighbor for this week, this day, maybe outside? Who can I see, feel for, and go to? If God has laid someone on your heart, then let's ask him to empower and lead us in that direction. Amen?

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your goodness and your grace to us. And Lord, I pray that you would fill us not with a sense of this kind of obligation. We are obligated in love to each other. We understand that. And sometimes loving is hard, and it's tiring. Ask any parent that, let alone friends or neighbors. It's not just all rainbows and ice cream. It can be very difficult. And yet, Lord, you give us the strength to follow you wherever you lead us. And so Lord, I simply pray that we would walk out of this room today with bigger, fuller hearts and that the love of Christ would overflow out of us into the lives of people that you want to reach. And so bless us in this regard. And may this be a church that when people outside of it look at it, they say, wow, see how those Christians love. We pray this in the name of the great lover of our soul, Jesus Christ, all God's people said. Amen.