Perspectives

Remind me, who is my neighbor?

By Janita Krayniak
Posted 7/7/22

From the NIV: On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.  

“Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  

“What …

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Perspectives

Remind me, who is my neighbor?

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From the NIV: On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. 

“Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 

“What is written in the Law?” Jesus replied. “How do you read it?” 

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 

But the man wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

When I arrived in Powell during the middle of the pandemic, I wandered into the building you know as Powell First United Methodist Church at the corner of Second and Bernard. As I entered this sacred space filled with the love and memories of the years, I was met at the bulletin boards all over the church with the phrase, “We love our neighbor!”…this was followed by a second phrase “Who is our neighbor?”

Many of you know that this comes from the passage in scripture in which a lawyer tries to figure out the way to inherit eternal life. It comes just before the scripture we know as the Good Samaritan in the book of Luke. The thought of who is my neighbor and how to love him has filled my heart for the last two years of serving the good people of Powell. 

Last week was our Vacation Bible Camp. 

We based our slogan on the character of Buzz Lightyear and his catch phrase of “To infinity and beyond” but we made it reflect God’s love for us by saying: “God loves you to Eternity and Beyond!” 

Just a couple of days before the VBS was to begin, I got a text from a concerned community member because of a LGBTQIA+ character and scene in the latest Disney Toy Story movie, “Lightyear.” This community member was concerned about whether this movie should be associated with the church and VBS. 

Even after talking to some in the community, I heard things like: “I just wish Disney had not done it this way” or “our children don’t need to see this kind of thing” or “why did they have to put it out in our faces like this.”

There are families right here living in this beautiful idyllic community that mirror the one portrayed in the Lightyear movie. 

There are families that have two moms or two dads; there are people who are transexual or bisexual or two spirit, questioning, some that are pan or asexual, and the list goes on …but guess what: they are our neighbors, and we are called to love them. 

There is a future generation in the children being raised by these families that we would consider “non-traditional” families, and we — both as a community and as Christians — have a choice to make. We (the community and the church) can either accept and love them (all of them) or we can continue to judge and condemn them. 

I find it interesting that the passage from Leviticus that deals with giving us as Christians “permission” to judge our neighbor (we are very quick to latch on to that part of the law) is surrounded by Levitical rules against hybridizing animals. We celebrate Mule Days just a few miles down the road in Ralston, but that is not considered wrong. Scripture also says not to wear clothing woven together from two types of fabric, yet I sit here in a cotton/poly blend as I type. 

My point is that we can get bogged down in pointing fingers and saying who is right and who is wrong, or we can just get on to the main part of Luke’s Samaritan passage — and that is loving God, neighbor and self. 

My hope and prayer is this: When we look around our beautiful town of Powell and throughout this incredibly picturesque area known as the Big Horn Basin, we will truly see our neighbors — all of them. Then after we see these neighbors, instead of judging them in the name of righteousness, what if we showed love, mercy and compassion? What if we truly chose to love all of our neighbors and God — and ourselves, too? 

I quote again, from the NIV.  Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

In the words of Jesus, you are invited to get out there and make disciples per the “Great Commission.” You are invited to get out there and look for your neighbors — all of them — even the ones we might disagree with. Once you find the neighbors — all of them — you are invited to get out there and show love, mercy and compassion.

“Go and do likewise.” 

 

(Janita Krayniak is the pastor at First United Methodist Church in Powell.)

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