![\"Neighbor](\"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Neighbor-PM.png\")
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By Shane Bennett<\/strong><\/p>\n John Wesley, a personal hero of mine, famously said, \u201cI look upon all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto all that are willing to hear the glad tidings of salvation.\u201d<\/p>\n I enjoy the contrast of Wesley\u2019s generous sentiment to the apparent caution of the expert in the law whose question to Jesus prompted Luke\u2019s account of the parable of the Good Samaritan. Having established that the greatest commandment was loving God, followed by loving neighbors, he pressed to see who all might be included in the \u201cneighbor\u201d designation.<\/p>\n The lawyer asked how to be a good Jew. Jesus told him to be like a good Samaritan! Show mercy to those who need mercy.<\/p>\n I love this story more every time I circle back around to it. It has power over millennia and lessons for us in these crazy days. If you have a moment, read it again<\/a>, then consider these three observations and one question.<\/p>\n The lawyer opens the chess match with, \u201cTeacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?\u201d Jesus could have pulled out a copy of the Four Spiritual Laws, shown him the Romans Road, or maybe drawn the Bridge Diagram in the dirt for the guy. Instead, he responds with, \u201cWhat is written in the Law? \u201cHow do you read it?\u201d<\/p>\n This is such a good challenge for us in these days of information whirlwind, fake news, and deeply held but biblically suspect ideology.<\/p>\n When we feel strongly on an issue, let\u2019s ask ourselves, \u201cWhat is written? How do you read it?\u201d and then ask the same question, kindly and carefully, of fellow believers, concerning the issues of the day.<\/p>\n Let me be clear: I\u2019m not accusing you of \u201cbiblically suspect ideology.\u201d I\u2019m confessing that some of my thinking might be unbiblical\u2014and inviting us all to consider that it could be true of any of us.<\/p>\n Jesus ends the brief episode with a question: \u201cWho of the three was neighborly?\u201d Then when the lawyer bravely stated the obvious and correct answer, Jesus said, \u201cGo and do likewise.\u201d So simple, so brilliant. And so important for us today.<\/p>\n Knowing what Jesus says is valuable. Doing what he says, however, is the main payoff. Jesus wraps up the Sermon on the Mount with the \u201chouse on the rock, house on the sand\u201d illustration. If you hear and do what God says, you survive calamity. I so long to be one who both hears and does what is right. I\u2019ve racked up way too many points in the know<\/em> column relative to the points in the do<\/em> column.<\/p>\n After reading the Sermon on the Mount, I\u2019m particularly challenged to go after the warm, godly characteristics of \u201cpeacemaker,\u201d \u201csalt,\u201d and \u201clight.\u201d Want to join me? Perhaps show the way?<\/p>\n Ah, to be a storyteller like Jesus. He knew his culture so well. He had the right measure of boldness, cheekiness, and sport. If he told the Good Samaritan story in your church come Sunday morning, who would be the good guy? A Mormon? A Muslim? An American? A transgendered, illegal alien? The deacon\u2019s daughter who went to college, left the church, and got all liberal?<\/p>\n Jesus has a way of cutting to the chase, doesn\u2019t he? Of raising a mirror to show us our moral prejudice and our grace parameters.<\/p>\n At the same time, by choosing a bad guy Samaritan to be the good guy in his story, Jesus is telling us this: I\u2019m down for using you to do my kingdom work. If a Samaritan is fair game to show a Jewish lawyer how to act, then you\u2019re not too dumb, too old or young, too short on the raw material, too privileged or underprivileged, too red, blue, rural, urban, or weird. Your checkered past doesn\u2019t stop him. God delights to use you.<\/p>\n Last night I met a farmer from the middle of nowhere, Idaho, who retired, took his wife\u2019s hand, and moved to the Middle East for several years to love Muslims. It may be a side note in the story, but don\u2019t miss it: Kingdom work is open to pretty much anyone willing to take a detour, drop some coin, and get their donkey dirty.<\/p>\n Jesus told his tester, \u201cGo and do likewise.\u201d Be a good neighbor. Act the way the Samaritan did. God knows there are plenty of people right now who feel like the universe has conspired to beat the tar out of them, take their stuff, and leave them for dead.<\/p>\n Maybe you share that sentiment. You feel like you\u2019re on a playground merry-go-round, barely keeping your grip as it spins. Then a big kid comes along and gives it another push. Maybe you feel like the US election and subsequent events have yanked the rug out from under you. Perhaps the pandemic, the school closures, or the economic stress has you hanging by a thread.<\/p>\n I\u2019d be honored to come alongside you in prayer. I suspect I can relate to some though certainly not all of what you\u2019re facing. Tell me<\/a> how I can pray. If the Holy Spirit\u2019s nudging you put the words of Jesus into action, to act like a good Samaritan, here are three things to consider.<\/p>\n Odds are good you won\u2019t see a robbed, beaten, left-for-dead dude on your way home from work today. But you may pass someone in the hallway at church who\u2019s on the ropes. The person in front of you at the grocery may be only barely holding their stuff together. And if we dare to consider it, there are whole nations of Muslims, Hindus, and Buddhists reeling under the assault of the virus with no one even whispering, \u201cJesus is for you.\u201d<\/p>\n There are times when I don\u2019t want to look around. Like a priest or Levite, I want to lower my head, avert my gaze, slide on over to the \u201cenjoy my life\u201d side of the road and let the rest of the world be. But Jesus calls me, us, to look.<\/p>\n Will you consider with me, to whom is he asking you to be a neighbor this week?<\/p>\n Jesus could have directly responded to the lawyer\u2019s question. He certainly knew the answer! Maybe his response was more than Semitic pedagogy. Maybe Jesus wanted to let the guy talk. I know that today we show care for people when doing that. David Augsberger<\/a> says, \u201cBeing heard is so close to being loved that, for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.\u201d<\/p>\n It feels empowering to yell. Cathartic to confront. It may feel imperative to get your take on the table. But it\u2019s safer to listen<\/a>. And there are people around you who need to be heard today. Simply holding your tongue and taking the time to nod your head and say, \u201cGo on\u2026\u201d could mean so much.<\/p>\n To whom might the Holy Spirit be prompting you to listen today, this week?<\/p>\n Finally, we act as a good neighbor by loving people who need it, those whom God puts alongside our path.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s be honest: Loving costs. It costs time and money and involves taking a risk. If we choose to love, we might have to trade in being right, at least temporarily.<\/p>\n In a deep way, I want the Church to be known these days for its love. If that\u2019s going to happen, it probably needs to happen first in me and you. Jesus\u2019s life and death show us the way. May God empower, encourage, and release us to \u201cGo and do likewise.\u201d<\/p>\n Who might God be asking you to love in a fresh way this week?<\/p>\n Grace to you as you do so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Shane Bennett John Wesley, a personal hero of mine, famously said, \u201cI look upon all the world as my parish; thus far I mean, that in whatever part of it I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto all that are willing to hear the glad tidings of … Continue reading The World Is My Neighbor: Learning from the Good Samaritan<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":4515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9805","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-practical-mobilization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9805"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9843,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9805\/revisions\/9843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9805"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9805"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Jesus nails the first response.<\/h3>\n
2. Jesus sticks the landing.<\/h3>\n
3. A bad guy is the good guy.<\/h3>\n
4. How do you love like a Samaritan?<\/h3>\n
Look.<\/h3>\n
Listen.<\/h3>\n
Love.<\/h3>\n