I DON'T HAVE NEIGHBORS.

These days I feel like the Lawyer who after receiving an answer on what is the greatest commandment wonders who is their neighbor? My reasons are slightly different, I am just trying to wrap the fact that I have no idea who lives next to me. Don’t judge me yet am dwelling in an individualistic community and this is the norm,  so I am told: "it's just different”.

What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Mathew which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus turns the question to him “what does the law say? How do you read it?

 ‘‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.

Do this and you will live.

To justify his actions, he asked “who is my Neighbor” never mind he wants to test Jesus and see whether he understands the Law.

So, the legal expert is confronted with a parable by Jesus and Just as the priest is looking for a loophole to avoid the inconvenience of helping his neighbor, the expert of the law is looking for a loophole to avoid the inconvenience of loving his neighbor. This parallel is intentionally drawn by Jesus.

By trying to define the neighbor, the lawyer is trying to define where he can get away with not loving.

So, we see

                   PRIEST:   This was a Levite. Being a priest, however, who was holy, was “particularly enjoined to avoid uncleanness” they were supposed to avoid dead bodies. He even crossed the road. He had all the justification to get away with this.

        LEVITE: The Levite (without the authority) knew he shouldn’t encounter a dead body since he’d become unclean as well. They were the second-ranking to the priest. He also felt justified to getaway.

        SAMARITAN: A deep hatred existed between Jews and Samaritans. The Jews saw themselves as pure descendants of Abraham while he Samaritans were a mixed race produced when the northern kingdom intermarried with other peoples after the exile. were hated and had enmity with the Jews. Some versions say a despised Samaritan.

Nb/ That Road was known to be traveled by Levites priests and had robbers. Samaritans rarely used this path.

Jesus asks who would you say was a neighbor? Jesus question is intriguing, He doesn’t ask who did a good job or who was merciful? He asks who is a good neighbor? This adds a whole layer to the next-door neighbor.

The legal expert answers?  The one who had mercy, not the Samaritan, how do you even pronounce?

The legal expert least expected that the Samaritan would be the correct one no wonder he can’t even pronounce Samaritan.

·      Lack of love is often easy to justify, even though it is never right.

·      We can be a neighbor whenever we are needed, and neighbors can come from surprising places.

·      Love means acting to meet a need.

We see a double commandment that cannot be separated. Love the Lord and then love your Neighbor.

The Samaritan's actions were established in love.

The parable moves us beyond just the doing good and bad, it stresses on the concrete expressions of  love, which is not just knowing what love is but on going that extra mile.

It moves us from the loving to the Why?

The Samaritan man on arrival is moved with compassion and that makes him stop?

There were no calculations or logic he was moved by compassion.

Why does he stop he is moved by compassion?  

Is it the right road to STOP!!! Nooo it’s not safe but he stops anyway.

 What do we do when we stop? Feel helpless and pray and move on No. He stops and soothes the wounds with olive and wine. Uses what he has and rides him to an Inn and pays the bills and he will surely come to check on him and clear the bills.

It’s not driven by reason or understanding or logic. It’s bigger than him. It’s far beyond what I consider safe and familiar.

This kind of love is different.

Myers (2011) says “we receive love from beyond ourselves or we don’t have it at all”.

Because we are loved so much by God we can receive that love and love others.

 John 15:5 ⁵ “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.

I am learning to remain connected and receive the sap that enables me to Love beyond just the knowledge and the fact that we are known to love.

I like to say, “when loving moves from the head to the heart”. It has no limits; boundaries and it is enabled by the Lord.

I am not talking about how you need to love more, to put more effort and lay down more strategies. No! I am talking about receiving from the Lord and becoming that Love. not doing. But becoming.

 I invite you to ask the Lord to fill you with His love so you can overflow without limits.

What are your limits today? Time, money. Who is your neighbor today?  look in your family, your friends, colleagues at work? At church here.

The world is broken and hurting today and without him, we can do nothing, Our efforts will be limited by so many things. With him there are so many neighbors that we need to be soothing, carrying, and loving.

                       INDEED I HAVE SO MANY NEIGHBOURS. 

 “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen us with power through his Spirit in our inner being, so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. And I pray that we, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:16-19