Saturday, July 9, 2016

Year C, Proper 10, Luke 10:25-37, “And who is my neighbor?”

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.  Amen
“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.”
“Do this, and you will live.”
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus,
“And who is my neighbor?”

Alton Sterling was selling CDs outside of a Baton Rouge convenience store.  A homeless man persisted in asking him for money, and his response was to insist that the man leave him alone, showing his gun in the process.
The police were called; Sterling was wrestled to the ground, and then shot point blank by the police officers sparking an outrage across the nation.
Irritated by a homeless man’s persistent requests for money, Sterling lost his life. 
And wanting to justify himself, the young man asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

Philando Castile carried a weapon with him, most likely for his own safety.
Pulled over because of a broken taillight, he informed the police officer that he had a gun, and then reached—
And then he reached
For his wallet, or for the gun?
Obviously, the police officer thought the later for he responded by opening fire, and so ended the life of Castile.
And wanting to justify himself, the young man asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

Our nation grieved over what seemed to be the senseless shootings of two black men by the police, all recorded on video, and shared via social media.
Protests formed as people reacted to this use of force by the police against these black men.
Black Lives Matter
People marched.
And at least one planned.
In a well planned out attack at a Dallas protest, Micah Johnson, used his military background to stage an ambush at the protest, and in the end 7 police officers were wounded, 5 were dead, and a whole nation was shaken.
Johnson, himself, died when the police used a robot to deliver a bomb.
And wanting to justify himself, the young man asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

In response to all of this, an ex Representative, Joe Walsh, tweeted an angry message:
“3 Dallas Cops killed, 7 wounded.  This is now war.  Watch out Obama.  Watch out black lives matter punks.  Real America is coming after you.”
He latter deleted the tweet, but too late.  His anger and his words are now out there to further incite even more violence.
And wanting to justify himself, the young man asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

“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.”
As commandments go, it’s simple enough.
Love God, Love your neighbor.
Do this, and you will live.
But it’s a bit like when someone asks if you will do them a favor. . .
                We can’t help but want to know first, what the favor being asked is.
If you were to ask me for some money, I may very well be willing to give it to you. . . but I’d like to know how much before I say yes.
There are limits, after all, both with respect to how much I can give as well as how much I’m willing to give.
So it is.  So it is.
The lawyer who was asking Jesus these questions was spot on in his response.  “And who is my neighbor?”
It makes a difference, you know.  Love them.  Alright.  But who are they that you would have me love?

My heart goes out to police officers in this day and age.
There is a simple fact they live with everyday:  more and more people are carrying guns.
Their lives are always at risk.  A simple traffic stop has resulted in law enforcement officers being killed.
So you KNOW someone has a gun, and they reach toward their hip.  Are they going after their wallet, to show the police their ID?
Or are they going after their gun?
In Dallas, the shooter was killed by sending in a robot with a bomb.  The reason this novel new approach was used is that being the second to shoot is not a good position to be in, because before you get that opportunity, you may be dead.  I’m sure that in Dallas, no one wanted to see a sixth dead officer.
Can we love, and yes, forgive, these officers who so often have to put their lives on the line?
And wanting to justify himself, the young man asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

This last week, Newt Gingrich was quoted as saying:
“If you are a normal white American. . .you don’t understand being black in America.”
The victim’s families feel as though they, especially young black men, are being hunted by the police.  They are dying after being pulled over because their tail light is out. 
You don’t hear of many white people dying at the hands of the police because of a broken tail light. 
When I wear a hooded Carhart coat while walking out on the street, I don’t fear for my life.  But a young black man in a hooded sweatshirt is at risk.
Can we ever understand what it is to live in such fear?
To live fearing that the officers who are supposed to keep you safe, may in fact gun you down?
Can we love, and yes, forgive, these young men who so often have their lives at risk?
And wanting to justify himself, the young man asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

Who is my neighbor?
Who am I to love?
Those questions have far reaching impacts on our lives, and they touch on many more issues than simply the violence of this last week.
Matthew Shepherd, a gay man studying at the University of Wyoming, was beaten, tortured, and left to die.
And wanting to justify himself, the young man asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
Millions of undocumented people make our beds, do our landscaping, cut our beef, and whatever else they can do to make a living for their families.  Yes, they come from south of the border.  You don’t hear of many undocumented Canadians residing in the country.
Build a wall, keep them out.
Load the bus, and ship them home.
And wanting to justify himself, the young man asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
The Mediterranean Sea is adrift with refugees fleeing the violence of the Middle East.
And wanting to justify himself, the young man asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”

If we are honest there are a whole lot of people out there that are difficult for us to love.  Really difficult.
And so we prefer to avoid the whole issue and pass by on the other side of the road.
I have to admit, I’m glad I don’t live in Dallas, or Falcon Heights, or Baton Rouge.  It’s much easier to be righteous at a distance.
I have to admit, that the other day, when a young black man came to my door (really a rarity in a white community like Sandpoint), I was nervous.  Turns out he was just a youth doing door to door sales, nothing to be alarmed about.  Nothing at all.  But I have to be honest that my reaction was different than it is when a white man shows up at my door.
It’s easier to love all people at a distance.

In the midst of all of this, Jesus tells us the story of the Samaritan man who saw the man who was lying beside the road, a victim of robbers, and who cared for him.
The priest and the Levite had passed by, not wanting to get involved.

But the Samaritan stopped and showed mercy, tended to his wounds, taking him to an inn, and seeing that he was cared for.
And who is my neighbor?
“The one who showed mercy.”

There is a real danger in our world today, one that is always with us.
The natural tendency is to respond to violence with even more violence. 
Jesus, however speaks of mercy.
Mercy, not violence.  Love, not hate.
In the end, it doesn’t matter WHO our neighbor is.
·         If we respond to the world around us with hatred and violence, our own lives are destroyed.
·         But if we can be loving and merciful, as God has been loving and merciful to us, then we shall live.
In the end it’s that simple. 
Choose one pathway and you die.
Choose another and you live.
I think that at times like this it is easy to want to simply turn it over to God, and say “Fix it.”
And God does want to fix it. 
But the solution does involve us.  We bear the responsibility to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world.  We are called to be witnesses to his love and mercy.  We simply cannot pass by on the other side of the road and expect things to change.
If you want to have a neighbor,  you have to be a neighbor.  If you want to be loved, you have to be willing to love. 
God’s solution involves us.

That’s the uncomfortable truth.  And an incredible responsibility.  Amen

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