Luke 10:29, 36-37 But he (the expert in the law) wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”. . .(Jesus asked) “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
The young family was getting settled into their new house when there was a knock on the door. There stood an octogenerian named Lou, extending a popsicle to the family's four-year-old boy. "Welcome, welcome!" he bellowed. "This is the best neighborhood for a family."
It wouldn't be the last time Lou brought food. Sometimes when it was time to prepare dinner, Lou would show up at the family's door with a pizza or a rotisserie chicken. "You take the night off," he would say, waving as he walked away while the mother expressed her gratitude.
Lou and his wife Mary offered their bathrooms when the young family's water heater burst and a handyman friend when the furnace went out. They became trusted friends to the parents and an extra set of grandparents to the kids. Lou and Mary were good neighbors.
In Luke's account of the Parable of the Good Samaritan, have you ever noticed that Jesus does not directly answer the question posed by the expert of the law, "And who is my neighbor?" Of course, Jesus's implied answer is "anyone you meet on your path who needs your help," and his parable crushes expectations of how to think about people who aren't in our tribe.
But as for the expert's question, Jesus responds with a story and a question of his own: "Which of these was a neighbor?" Jesus isn't focusing us on categorizing neighbors but on becoming good neighbors ourselves to all.
We have lost the neighborly feel in many neighborhoods. We have lost the neighborly feel as we travel outside of our neighborhoods.
When we take on the challenge of being good neighbors, seeking to help anyone in our path who needs a hand, then we go far toward Jesus's favored commandment to "love your neighbor as yourself."
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