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“Who is My Neighbor?”

July 13, 2025

Luke 10:25-37,

Our gospel reading for this morning comes from the gospel of Luke, chapter 10, beginning in verse 25:

John 10:25-37

25 An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.[a] “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 27 He answered, “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.”28 And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”

29 But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and took off, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, treating them with oil and wine. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him, and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

This is the word of the Lord, thanks be to God.

Our Scripture reading for this morning begins with an expert in the laws of the Old Testament asking Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Basically, the expert is asking Jesus to pat him on the back for the good work he is already doing. It takes the expert by surprise when Jesus quotes the Shema from Deuteronomy 6 and tells him:

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.

Instead of patting the expert on the back, Jesus broadens the application of the law to include the expert’s neighbors.

The expert, thinking Jesus is trying to trick him asks sarcastically “And who is my neighbor?” The lawyer was asking for boundaries over who should and should not be considered a neighbor. Instead of describing who a neighbor is, Jesus discusses how to be a neighbor. It is in response to this question of how to be a neighbor that Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan.

A man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho when a band of robbers stripped him, beat him, and left him for dead. A priest and a Levite- people you would think would help the man- walk by. It is a Samaritan. One the expert in the law would view as religiously impure and ethically other who takes care of him.

Jesus ends the parable of the Good Samaritan by asking the expert “which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor who fell into the hands of robbers.” The expert replies “the one who showed him mercy.” Jesus replies, “Yes, go and do likewise.”

Jesus doesn’t just say to the experts, “Samaritans are okay,” here’s an example. Jesus says to the expert, “Go and be like the Samaritan.” In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus’ parables aren’t just moral stories or spiritual illustrations. They’re disruptive, imaginative acts meant to reveal the hidden shape of God’s kingdom. Jesus tells parable to invite his listeners into a new way of seeing the world.

Especially in Luke, Jesus’ parables tend to center the poor, the outsider, and the unexpected hero. Showing that God’s grace doesn’t follow the rules of the experts. The kingdom of God is not about being correct, it’s about showing mercy. In God’s kingdom compassion outweighs credential. Rather than giving easy answers, Jesus’ parables ask hard questions- about mercy, justice, and who really belongs in God’s unfolding story.

The example of the Good Samaritan’s compassion and mercy is the example of none other than Jesus’ compassion and mercy personified. Jesus embodies the Samaritan’s role: coming to us in our woundedness, crossing boundaries to rescue and heal. The cross is the ultimate act of unexpected, scandalous mercy. And with every parable Jesus tells Jesus beckons us closer and closer to the cross.

This week I’ve been thinking a lot about the Good Samaritan. Specifically I’ve been thinking about who might be showing up with radical compassion while the “righteous” pass by?

This week I finally finished unpacking all the books in my office. I studied literature in college so don’t be surprised when you come into my office to see some novels tucked in next to Calvin’s Institutes and the latest edition of the Book of Order.

One novel I keep in my office at the church is Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. There’s a moment early in Les Misérables—maybe you know it—when Jean Valjean, newly released from prison, is taken in by Bishop Myriel. Valjean is desperate, angry, and used to being treated like a criminal. The bishop doesn’t ask questions. He gives him food, a warm bed, and a place at the table.

But Valjean, hardened by years of injustice, steals the bishop’s silver and runs. He’s caught almost immediately, and the police drag him back to the bishop’s door. And here’s the twist—the bishop doesn’t accuse him. He tells the officers the silver was a gift. And then, in a whisper meant just for Valjean, he adds that he’s forgotten the most valuable pieces—the candlesticks. The bishop presses them into his hands and says, “I have bought your soul for God.” That act of mercy—not judgment, not fear, not self-protection—changes the entire course of Valjean’s life.

When Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan, he’s doing the same thing. He’s flipping the script. The Samaritan, the one the lawyer would have considered least likely to be faithful, becomes the model of mercy. He becomes the sign of God’s kingdom breaking in. Just like Bishop Myriel. Just like so many others the world writes off. The kingdom of God often comes wrapped in surprise. Not through the powerful, but through the merciful.

Just like the bishop’s mercy changed Valjean’s life, the Samaritan’s mercy changes the question entirely. Who is my neighbor? Becomes “What kind of neighbor am I” And if the kingdom of God breaks in through the most unexpected people- through outcasts, outsiders, even enemies. Then maybe we need to start looking for God’s kingdom in some unexpected places.

In the person we usually avoid. In the communities we’ve been taught to overlook. In the face we’ve been told doesn’t belong. Jesus invited us not just to admire the Samaritan, but to become him- to live as people so rooted in mercy that the world catches a glimpse of God’s reign breaking in, right here and now.

Following the devastating Independence Day flooding in the Texas Hill country, staff at Presbyterian Mo-Ranch Camp wanted to help their neighbors affects by devastating flash flooding. According to the Associated Press, destructive fast-moving waters along the Guadalupe River rose 26 feet in just 45 minutes before dawn on July 4. Mo-Ranch received no alerts or information from local authorities ahead of the deadly deluge, so camp leaders took it upon themselves to move 70 children and adults staying in a building by the river out of harm’s way, saving all their lives. Just one week later , more than 100 people drowned in the flooding with almost 200 more still unaccounted for.  

After ensuring their guests were safe and after the facility’s closure, Mo-Ranch staff and volunteers were exploring ways to help their neighbors in Kerrville, Texas. On July 6, Mo Ranch opened their camp to house TEXSAR volunteers engaged in search and rescue missions over the weekend. They joined forces with Dietert Center, a senior center in Kerrville, that provides meal deliveries and other valuable services to seniors affected by the flooding.

The staff at Mo-Ranch didn’t stop to ask who deserved help or whether it was convenient. They saw suffering and responded with compassion. That’s what mercy looks like in 2025. It’s the same kind of mercy the Good Samaritan showed. A mercy that crosses boundaries, costs something, and brings healing. In Mo-Ranch’s response, we catch a glimpse of God’s kingdom breaking in- not with fanfare, but with quiet faithfulness and radical love for neighbor.

So maybe the call today isn’t to judge our neighbors based on how religiously their fallowing Old Testament law. Maybe the call is to see differently. To open our eyes to the places where mercy is already at work. Like the Samaritan on the road. Like the bishop with his candlesticks. Like Mo-Ranch opening its doors and saying “Come in- you are not alone.” God’s kingdom shows up in moments just like those. And Jesus is asking us, gently but clearly: Will you go and do likewise?

Because this is the king of neighbor Jesus calls us to be. A neighbor who sees suffering and moves towards it. A neighbor who crosses boundaries with compassion. A neighbor who surprises the world with mercy. That’s how the kingdom of God breaks in. And that’s how the world begins to look a little more like the one Jesus came to redeem.

Thanks be to God,

In Jesus’ name,

Amen.