Won’t You Be My Neighbor? – July 20, 2025

Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Luke 10:25-37
July 20, 2025

Today’s story, “The Good Samaritan,” is iconic.  It’s even become a metaphor in our modern world.  It’s become a description of someone who does something good for someone else.  We might say of that person, “He’s a good Samaritan.”  It’s also been codified into law.  All fifty states have some form of a “Good Samaritan Law.”  That’s usually a law that protects people who voluntarily help someone in distress.

So, speaking of laws, our story begins with a “lawyer.”  And this lawyer, who was part of the religious leadership, stood up while Jesus was speaking and “put him to the test.”  The religious leaders were often trying to trip Jesus up and “trap him in his words.”  Either that, or they were “testing” him to see that he was teaching the people correctly.  Remember, they were the keepers of the faith!

In this case, I think it was the latter.  This man seemed sincere.  He addressed Jesus as “teacher.”  And he asked him a fairly orthodox question.  “Teacher, what must I do to ‘inherit’ eternal life?”  And the word “inherit” is interesting.  It reflects what has been called “Covenant thinking.”  That meant receiving that which was promised – covenanted – by God.  This man saw himself as one of God’s people.  He was a descendant of Abraham, a “rightful heir” of the covenant.

So Jesus went with that.  He asked him, “What does the law say?”  And the man answered “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

Notice that there are actually two passages combined in that answer.  The first is the “Shema Israel,” the “Hear O Israel” from Deuteronomy 6.  We talked about a few weeks ago.  It’s one of the foundational passages in all of Judaism.  “Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God…”  But at the end of that answer, he adds a verse from Leviticus, which stated that “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Leviticus 18:19)

Now, scholars tell us that some rabbis liked to use those two passages together.  Love God, love neighbor.  We know Jesus did when he was asked what was the greatest commandment.  So, was this lawyer quoting those other rabbis?  Or was he acknowledging what he may have heard Jesus say already?  Or was he telling Jesus how the other rabbis combined those two, and then Jesus used it himself later?  We don’t know.  We don’t have a timeline for who said it first in the Gospels.  But whatever the case, Jesus liked that combination of thoughts – love God, love neighbor.  And he commended the man for his answer.

But that wasn’t the end of it.  The man took his questioning further.  He focused in on the last part – loving one’s neighbor.  Luke tells us that “desiring to justify himself,” he asked a further question.  It’s been suggested that he may have been a Pharisee, or at least he was influenced by pharisaic thought.  Because, as you know, Pharisees always wanted to be sure they were adhering to the law in its most minute detail!  “Law and righteousness” were paramount issues for them.

So this man asked for a “clarification” on that law.  He asked, “And who is my neighbor?”  And that question made me think of another iconic person, this one from our age.  It made me think of Mr. Rogers.  Right?  He’s the one who asked the question I’m using for my sermon title today.  “Won’t you be my neighbor?”

I didn’t have to say that, did I!  You know who was associated with that question!  I’m sure you thought “Mr. Rogers” when you read it!  Am I right?  And I’m sure most people who saw it on our sign thought, “Mr. Rogers,” too!  In fact, if you had just seen the sermon title, I’ll bet you would have thought of Mr. Rogers before you thought of the Good Samaritan!

Fred Rogers was an iconic figure in our world, wasn’t he?  And he was an ordained Presbyterian minister!  (1963)  He didn’t serve a church as pastor.  Instead, he worked in media and children’s ministry.  And that’s how we know him.

His son was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Topeka, Kansas.  And I met him there once.  And I’m told that every once in a while, when his father Fred was in town, he would give the Children’s Sermon.  Can you imagine that?  Mr. Rogers giving the children’s sermon!  (That’s an act I wouldn’t want to follow!)

I also wanted to mention today that Fred Rogers was associated with some “urban legends.”  It was said that he was a sniper in the army with a kill record, and that he wore sweaters on his show to cover his tattoos!  I want to put your minds at ease.  That is not true!  There is no record that he was ever served in the military.  There was a similar urban legend about Bob Keeshan.  It was said he fought on Iwo Jima.  He was in the Marines, but the war ended before he say any combat.  Who was Bob Keesha?  You know him as “Captain Kangaroo!”

So, there’s all you ever wanted to know about Fred Rogers!  He was an ordained minister, but he never served a church as pastor.  His parish was the “neighborhood” he created on the screen.  So yes, you’ve been to his church!  And when you were there, one of the prominent themes was,  “Who is my neighbor?”

That was the question this lawyer asked Jesus.  And in his very typical way, Jesus answered the question – by telling a parable.  And that parable is this iconic story that has become part of our culture all these years later.

However, Jesus told the story in an unexpected way!  I’ve always been amazed by the way Jesus could put a new twist on an old idea.  And he did that in spades in this story!  You see, the people there might have expected him to tell this story a different way.  They would have expected to say that the Samaritan was the victim.  And then it would have been a good Jew who helped him.

As you know, the Jews and the Samaritans had “issues.”  So there would have been cultural implications even if Jesus had told the story that way.  The message would have been that the people had to get past those “issues” and see even a Samaritan as a “neighbor” – and be willing to help him.  That would have made Jesus’ listeners squirm a bit!

But that’s not how Jesus told the story!  Instead, he said “A man went up from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers.”  The assumption there was that this victim was a Jewish man!  So the story quickly became the reverse of what the people might have expected!  It was a Samaritan who helped the Jew, not the other way around!

And to make the story even more powerful, Jesus added two other people to his story.  One was a priest and the other a Levite.  Both of them were of the priestly tribe of Levi – who was one of the sons of Jacob.  But a Levite was a person from that tribe who was not a priest.  But he would have had a supporting role in the worship of the Israelites.  So a priest was a Levite, but a Levite wasn’t necessarily a priest.  (A Square is a rectangle…)

So both of these men were involved in the worship leadership of the people.  And both expected to be models of compassion and piety.  But in this story, both ignored the man.  And both crossed the road, and passed by the man on the other side.  And instead, it was the Samaritan who took care of the man.

It’s been suggested that to “cross the road” was to deliberately avoid the man – as opposed to just “not seeing him.”  They may have been insensitive – or unneighborly!  Or they may have been concerned about their ceremonial purity.  (If the man was dead, and they touched him, they would be ceremonially impure for seven days – by their law.)

Whatever the reason, these spiritual and religious leaders avoided the man – deliberately.  And the people listening would have known that!  And then to have this Samaritan, of all people, be the one who helped him, that really had to toy with their minds!  And I believe it was all intentional on Jesus’ part.  And it was masterful!

So was the ending.  After the parable was done, after all the reversal of societal and religious expectations Jesus had given them, he did not say, “So then, you should be like that Samaritan.”  No, he asked a much simpler question.  He simply asked, “Who proved to be neighbor to the man who fell among robbers?”  That was the lawyer’s original question.  “Who is my neighbor?”  I love that because he made “being neighbor” not just a matter of being in proximity of someone.  It was more than that!  It was how we treat them!

While you’re thinking about all that, Jesus added one more “wrinkle” to this story.  He made this about a man who was not simply a victim of circumstances.  This was a man who brought this hardship upon himself – by his bad choices!  What I mean by that, is that no one would walk that dangerous road alone!

When Jesus introduced this story, he said, “a man” – singular – “went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers.”  And I’m sure the people listening to this story would have said to themselves, “Well, yeah!  What did he expect?”  “Only a fool would travel that road by himself!”  And they may even have thought, “He got what he deserved!”

Jesus opened up that angle of this story.  He was suggesting that being a “neighbor” to someone means offering them help even when their needs arise from their own bad choices!  Even when they seem to be “getting what they deserved.”  Being a neighbor means seeing people’s needs without that judgement. And that can be hard, can’t it!

So Jesus makes this a story one that is filled with wrinkles, challenges, and contradictions.  And I think that’s what he does with us.  He challenges our thinking.  He lifts us out of our complacency.  He calls us to a higher level.  So this story is a challenge for all of us, too!  It asks us, “Who indeed is our neighbor?”

As I said, the ending is masterful.  With all that in mind, Jesus leaves it up to his listeners – and to us, his readers – to decide.  He asks, “Which of these men proved to be neighbor to that man left for dead on the side of the road?”  The answer is obvious.  But the challenge is there.  Will we “go and do likewise?”

Prayer

Eternal God, you call us in ways that are sometimes challenging.  It’s too easy to deliberately avoid them.  It’s too easy to pass by on the other side.  It’s too easy for us to do our “religious duties” but then fail our neighbor.  Help us to have the strength we need to follow the example of our savior, to love as he loved, and to be his people wherever he calls us.  For we pray in his name, Amen.