“But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?'” — Luke 10:29
I’ve had some “interesting” neighbors. I’ve had noisy neighbors, in both the negative and positive sense. I’ve had a wonderful neighbor with “colorful” chickens. I’ve had neighbors who seemed to have no concept of quiet hours. Now, I have the opposite problem. I hardly know anyone is home. I don’t know when they leave or when they return. We don’t even occasionally wave from a distance, because we never see one another.
It’s strange to live so close to people and not even have met them to even say hello.
There’s another side to this that’s almost funny. We often know—or at least think we know—people on television, YouTube, or social media better than the people living next door. We follow their stories, celebrate their successes, and grieve their disappointments. Of course, we’re only seeing the version they’ve chosen to share. It’s a carefully framed window into their lives, not the whole house. And we give them the same view of ourselves.
This random thought this morning made me think about the question posed to Jesus in Luke 10:29: “Who is my neighbor?” We accept that Jesus’ answer isn’t focused on the persons actually living next door. Jesus shatters any boundaries we might want to impose. Our neighbor is any person whose need intersects with our opportunity to love. Which, by the way, is everyone and anyone.
But I still am left pondering….
If I don’t know how to meet the people whose mailboxes are next to mine, how can I love them or the stranger across town? If I can’t meet the people whose porch lights I see every evening, am I really looking for opportunities to love anyone? Or is it easier to “love” people from a distance?
Perhaps the first step in loving our neighbors is acknowledging that they exist … and that they have the right to be different from us. Praying for people whose names we don’t know. Lingering long enough for a conversation to happen. Offering a wave or a smile. Looking for any way to connect or offer a word of encouragement.
Perhaps love begins with noticing.
In Luke 10, the expert in the law wanted a neat, easy definition of “neighbor.” Jesus instead described a way of seeing people, especially children, widows, the poor, and the lame or blind. But Jesus didn’t stop there. He also saw the Roman centurion and his daughter, the Pharisee, and the rich young man. In other words, anyone in need … which at some time or another is all of us.
I may never figure out my neighbors’ schedules or make connections that lead to conversations. But I can ask God to remind me to see the people around me as beloved children of God and to treat the people I meet as such. Even the one who cuts me off in traffic. Even the one who takes my parking spot. Even the one who is obviously having a bad day and “steals” some of my joy.
Instead of trying to negotiate an easier answer to “Who is my neighbor?” perhaps the better question is “How can I become a neighbor today?”
Prayer: Lord, open my eyes to the people you’ve placed around me. Teach me to notice, to care, and to love—not only those who are easy to know, but also those who remain strangers. Make me the kind of neighbor who reflects Christ’s love and compassion for all. Amen.
