July 14, 2019
Luke 10:25-37
I never personally knew the Rev. Fred Rogers. In fact, I’m not so sure I even watched him on his television show all that much. This past week, though, I did find myself thinking a lot about Mr. Rogers and his neighborhood. Maybe some of you didn’t know this but Fred Rogers, or the man famously known as Mr. Rogers, was an ordained Presbyterian minister and as I’ve looked back on his life, I can see more clearly the presence of this theological influence. By all accounts Mr. Rogers took seriously that loving God and loving one’s neighbor was the great command and summary of the law. It seems he took seriously that failing to love one’s neighbor was actually an illumination of one’s failing to love God, to trust and love God in faithfulness and goodness to us. Love of God and love of neighbor is what appears to have been the driving force in Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and in Rev. Fred Rogers life.
He was brutally aware of all the ways we humans can be awful to one another and he seemed to understand better than most the devastating effects such behavior can have on children in our midst. So, he dedicated his adult life to showing kids a different way. He dedicated his life to teaching those children in our midst that compassion for and empathy toward another life is the only way humanity prospers. Mr. Rogers took seriously that the only way for the church to live out the story of Jesus in its own life is by living compassionately, caring for the sick and dying, providing relief to the poor, welcoming those who are lonely, marginalized and excluded. He also taught that compassion is not sympathy, but it is also more than empathy as it is that stirring, found in the depths of life, to reach out and embrace people in the ditch. Mr. Rogers seemed to understand better than most that those in the ditch were his neighbors and more importantly, he wanted those in the ditch to know that he was their neighbor too.
Take a look at this picture. It comes from an episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood that first aired in 1969. This episode came as a direct result of Fred Rogers being incensed when he learned about African-Americans being barred from swimming in public pools. So, in response, Mr. Rogers invites the neighborhood’s lone law officer, played by Mr. François Clemmons to share a foot bath in a kiddie pool. This picture – this episode – when put in its proper context beautifully demonstrates his willingness to get in the ditch but it also shows his dedication to the Gospel’s version of neighborly love.
There is something else about this image, and more importantly, the inclusion of Mr. Clemmons in that role, that speaks to opening the eyes of others by getting in the ditch and being a loving neighbor – it was the role Rogers offered Clemmons – the lone cop in this show. In one interview Mr. Clemmons says, “I come from the ghetto! [and] I always thought of the police as being the most dangerous person in the neighborhood.” His idea of police as loving neighbors changed because of role in that show. You see, by accepting such a counter-cultural role, and teaming up with a white man to show the world their collective humanity, both Mr. Rogers and Mr. Clemmons epitomized neighborly love.
******************************
Which brings me to today’s reading of scripture and the story we all know as the parable of the Good Samaritan. I must admit I’ve dealt with a few lawyers in my day who embody the image of the lawyer in this story. Someone not really wanting to get to the truth, but who tries to trick their way into getting the answer they want. I must also admit I love how easily Jesus handled this lawyer.
So, with his first question the lawyer wants to know what he must do to inherit eternal life. Just give me the playbook Jesus and I’ll be good because then I will know the boundaries with which my life and my actions must fit. Jesus’ response is quite simple, love God with all your soul, strength and mind, and love you neighbor as yourself.
Now, most of us easily agree with that first part of the love command – at least mentally. It is that second part that gives us pause, just like it did this lawyer and as any good lawyer would, he asks a follow-up question. A question, I believe for this particular man, was really rooted in elimination of certain people. Yet it was a question that opened the door for Jesus to teach as only Jesus could. It is such a classic question that you and I are still asking today: Who is my neighbor?
As it always does, Jesus’ response came in the form of a story. A story of a man traveling and who is robbed and beaten and left for dead on the road. While this man is lying there dying, a priest comes along. He sees the man but doesn’t stop. This priest actually crosses the road to avoid him. After the priest, came a Levite, another religious leader. After seeing the man, he too crosses the road. So, by this point two men, both religious leaders who belonged to the same people as the beaten man walked right past.
Luckily, though, a third man walks by. Now this man was a Samaritan and Samaritans were considered so low that the beaten man normally would not even speak to them. But in this story Jesus tells us that the Samaritan sees the beaten man and he is “moved with pity”. This Samaritan man gets in the ditch and the beaten man accepts him. The Samaritan then bandages the man’s wounds, and takes him to an inn, and pays for it with his own money. Then he tells the innkeeper to feed the man and take care of him, promising that he will return and pay for it all. Jesus ends the story by asking, “So, who was this beaten man’s neighbor?” “The one who showed him mercy. The Samaritan” was the reply. And Jesus then says, “Go and do likewise”.
It really is a beautiful story. It speaks so well to all that humanity can be. In fact, it is one of the most important and most well-known stories of the Christian faith, yet there are so many stories that depict the exact opposite of this teaching. There seem to be so many stories of people turning their backs on a neighbor. And maybe they do it because they want to somehow claim that another human being is not really their neighbor. But the simple fact remains that everyone is your neighbor. Every single person is your neighbor. Even, and especially, the ones who you may hold to be a lowly person. That is what Jesus was teaching in this story.
This story is about getting in the ditch with another in need because you are compelled because you are human. This story is about getting in the ditch because that is the only way to share God’s Love – God’s Grace and God’s Mercy. Getting in the ditch is how the Good News of the Gospel is shared and when it is shared it spreads. Getting in the ditch is what followers of The Way do because to be an actual follower you must actually do what the one you follow did.
*******************************
Just like the Rev. Fred Rogers I am brutally aware of all the ways we humans can be awful to one another. All I have to do is look to the deportation centers. But just like Mr. Rogers, I believe there is a better way - the way of love which start with loving God and ends with loving all other humans as I love myself.
The story is our story. It is a story for travelers on the road. If we let it, it will rout us in the only direction God desires—the way of love and compassion for others. This is more than a parable about a helpful stranger; it is about the transforming power of God at work in those who travel the dangerous roads in our world, moving us into the fullness of life, eternal life, here and now.
Amen!
Luke 10:25-37
I never personally knew the Rev. Fred Rogers. In fact, I’m not so sure I even watched him on his television show all that much. This past week, though, I did find myself thinking a lot about Mr. Rogers and his neighborhood. Maybe some of you didn’t know this but Fred Rogers, or the man famously known as Mr. Rogers, was an ordained Presbyterian minister and as I’ve looked back on his life, I can see more clearly the presence of this theological influence. By all accounts Mr. Rogers took seriously that loving God and loving one’s neighbor was the great command and summary of the law. It seems he took seriously that failing to love one’s neighbor was actually an illumination of one’s failing to love God, to trust and love God in faithfulness and goodness to us. Love of God and love of neighbor is what appears to have been the driving force in Mr. Rogers Neighborhood and in Rev. Fred Rogers life.
He was brutally aware of all the ways we humans can be awful to one another and he seemed to understand better than most the devastating effects such behavior can have on children in our midst. So, he dedicated his adult life to showing kids a different way. He dedicated his life to teaching those children in our midst that compassion for and empathy toward another life is the only way humanity prospers. Mr. Rogers took seriously that the only way for the church to live out the story of Jesus in its own life is by living compassionately, caring for the sick and dying, providing relief to the poor, welcoming those who are lonely, marginalized and excluded. He also taught that compassion is not sympathy, but it is also more than empathy as it is that stirring, found in the depths of life, to reach out and embrace people in the ditch. Mr. Rogers seemed to understand better than most that those in the ditch were his neighbors and more importantly, he wanted those in the ditch to know that he was their neighbor too.
Take a look at this picture. It comes from an episode of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood that first aired in 1969. This episode came as a direct result of Fred Rogers being incensed when he learned about African-Americans being barred from swimming in public pools. So, in response, Mr. Rogers invites the neighborhood’s lone law officer, played by Mr. François Clemmons to share a foot bath in a kiddie pool. This picture – this episode – when put in its proper context beautifully demonstrates his willingness to get in the ditch but it also shows his dedication to the Gospel’s version of neighborly love.
There is something else about this image, and more importantly, the inclusion of Mr. Clemmons in that role, that speaks to opening the eyes of others by getting in the ditch and being a loving neighbor – it was the role Rogers offered Clemmons – the lone cop in this show. In one interview Mr. Clemmons says, “I come from the ghetto! [and] I always thought of the police as being the most dangerous person in the neighborhood.” His idea of police as loving neighbors changed because of role in that show. You see, by accepting such a counter-cultural role, and teaming up with a white man to show the world their collective humanity, both Mr. Rogers and Mr. Clemmons epitomized neighborly love.
******************************
Which brings me to today’s reading of scripture and the story we all know as the parable of the Good Samaritan. I must admit I’ve dealt with a few lawyers in my day who embody the image of the lawyer in this story. Someone not really wanting to get to the truth, but who tries to trick their way into getting the answer they want. I must also admit I love how easily Jesus handled this lawyer.
So, with his first question the lawyer wants to know what he must do to inherit eternal life. Just give me the playbook Jesus and I’ll be good because then I will know the boundaries with which my life and my actions must fit. Jesus’ response is quite simple, love God with all your soul, strength and mind, and love you neighbor as yourself.
Now, most of us easily agree with that first part of the love command – at least mentally. It is that second part that gives us pause, just like it did this lawyer and as any good lawyer would, he asks a follow-up question. A question, I believe for this particular man, was really rooted in elimination of certain people. Yet it was a question that opened the door for Jesus to teach as only Jesus could. It is such a classic question that you and I are still asking today: Who is my neighbor?
As it always does, Jesus’ response came in the form of a story. A story of a man traveling and who is robbed and beaten and left for dead on the road. While this man is lying there dying, a priest comes along. He sees the man but doesn’t stop. This priest actually crosses the road to avoid him. After the priest, came a Levite, another religious leader. After seeing the man, he too crosses the road. So, by this point two men, both religious leaders who belonged to the same people as the beaten man walked right past.
Luckily, though, a third man walks by. Now this man was a Samaritan and Samaritans were considered so low that the beaten man normally would not even speak to them. But in this story Jesus tells us that the Samaritan sees the beaten man and he is “moved with pity”. This Samaritan man gets in the ditch and the beaten man accepts him. The Samaritan then bandages the man’s wounds, and takes him to an inn, and pays for it with his own money. Then he tells the innkeeper to feed the man and take care of him, promising that he will return and pay for it all. Jesus ends the story by asking, “So, who was this beaten man’s neighbor?” “The one who showed him mercy. The Samaritan” was the reply. And Jesus then says, “Go and do likewise”.
It really is a beautiful story. It speaks so well to all that humanity can be. In fact, it is one of the most important and most well-known stories of the Christian faith, yet there are so many stories that depict the exact opposite of this teaching. There seem to be so many stories of people turning their backs on a neighbor. And maybe they do it because they want to somehow claim that another human being is not really their neighbor. But the simple fact remains that everyone is your neighbor. Every single person is your neighbor. Even, and especially, the ones who you may hold to be a lowly person. That is what Jesus was teaching in this story.
This story is about getting in the ditch with another in need because you are compelled because you are human. This story is about getting in the ditch because that is the only way to share God’s Love – God’s Grace and God’s Mercy. Getting in the ditch is how the Good News of the Gospel is shared and when it is shared it spreads. Getting in the ditch is what followers of The Way do because to be an actual follower you must actually do what the one you follow did.
*******************************
Just like the Rev. Fred Rogers I am brutally aware of all the ways we humans can be awful to one another. All I have to do is look to the deportation centers. But just like Mr. Rogers, I believe there is a better way - the way of love which start with loving God and ends with loving all other humans as I love myself.
The story is our story. It is a story for travelers on the road. If we let it, it will rout us in the only direction God desires—the way of love and compassion for others. This is more than a parable about a helpful stranger; it is about the transforming power of God at work in those who travel the dangerous roads in our world, moving us into the fullness of life, eternal life, here and now.
Amen!
