WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?

The late Fred Rogers, star of a children’s TV show on PBS a generation ago, would sing, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” I wonder if the writer of the lyrics to that song had read the exchange in John 10 between a bright, devout religious lawyer and Jesus.

The lawyer asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus turns the question back on the lawyer and says, “What is written in the law?” The man quotes scripture that we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and love our neighbor as ourselves.

Then, the lawyer asks, “And who is my neighbor?”

I have thought of that question as I have watched the local news cover the issue of persons without shelter and as I have sat in on conversations among community leaders and clergy. There are some people who want to do nothing to address this issue. That level of indifference is neither helpful nor Christian, it seems to me.
 
There are other well meaning people who insist that local non-profits should be able to provide a year-round, low barrier shelter for everyone in central Indiana who find their way to Bloomington. That strikes me as unrealistic and, some social workers would say, ultimately less than helpful.

What does it mean to be a neighbor to the people around us? I saw a bumper sticker on a car that said “Love Your Homeless Neighbor” but Jesus doesn’t limit it like that; the person without shelter is our neighbor, the student walking down the sidewalk is our neighbor, the business owner trying to serve the community and support their employees is our neighbor. How do we respond to the different needs of each group… these different neighbors?

FUMCB/The Open Door has been at the center of the Interfaith Winter Shelter, and we will continue to be a part of that effort. Going beyond that to be a year-round low barrier shelter site is problematic with other ministries of the church. I don’t see that happening for all sorts of reasons.

We will continue to play a role in addressing this need as we have in the past. And we need to speak up for those in our community who are seeking to address deeper issues such as addiction and mental illness.

It also seems to me that this is a community-wide issue and it will require not only downtown non-profits, but non-profits across the community, city government and IU to work together. Frankly, a few downtown churches don’t have the money or people power to do it all.

The real question isn’t “Who is my neighbor?” That can be one way of avoiding involvement with the person who is different or lives far down the road. The real question Jesus pushes us to face is “Will you be a neighbor?”   How are we doing that? How will we do that?

The story of the good Samaritan is a reminder that when people are in need, they become our neighbor.

The story of the good Samaritan is a reminder that we can’t do everything (the Samaritan didn’t take care of every traveler in trouble all the time) but that we can do something.

In Christ and for Christ,

Mark