Who is my neighbor?

[temporal1]

OP, Page 1, Feb 2017

[bible]luke 10,25-37[/bible]
What is Jesus trying to communicate in this story, not to us, but to those who were hearing it?

i want to describe something that happened yesterday.
this might be a place for it.

yesterday morning ..
i landed in a nearby smalltown airport hoping to be met with an Uber driver (my daughter ordered the ride) we use Uber in the Seattle area, with good experiences.

my impression is, Uber functions pretty well in urban centers, inconsistent in small towns+rural areas, so, i was prepared for disappointment. .. and, no driver to be seen.

i was alone, quickly, quite alone, except for a gentleman who seemed to speak to himself, “looks like no Uber here today.” i agreed. i expected him to leave, he seemed about to leave.

instead, he asked where i was going. i explained i lived in the country, about an hour away.
he said Uber texted him to let him know his ride was cancelled.
my daughter arranged my ride, i did not have any info, AND, her phone was turned off.

he had arranged for a second Uber. 11 minutes away. he offered it to me!
i refused, saying i would not take his ride!
i said perhaps his driver would have info, or suggestion for me.

his ride came, the driver said “no way” would he take me so far, and he had no idea about my options.
my phone has no APPS, Uber is APP-dependent.

i assured him i could get a cab. it was expensive, but i called before my trip, so i knew they would do it, and i knew the fare. he said, “no!” i said, “o.yes.”

the gentleman insisted i come with him to his home, he would get his car and drive me home!
i could not! he insisted.
he then told me he was a police officer (not in uniform) - i’m not sure why i believed him.
i had flown all night, 3 hours to connect in Chicago, my brain felt .. not up to protests.

i went with him, saying, i’d never resisted arrest, would not begin today.
he laughed.

well. he has a lovely home, and a late model BMW, with the craziest GPS i’ve ever seen. it looked like a movie screen.

we chatted as we drove, he is actually a police chief of a local small town, under 600 population.
he grew up in another not distant small town.
he talked about how his mother passed away from liver disease, never drank in her life.
he wasn’t an older man. i’m not good at guessing ages. 30’s-40’s?

it all worked out.
he refused any sort of payment. would not discuss it.
he said it was a beautiful day for a ride, that was it.

i’ve asked my grown children to send him a note to thank him for helping their mother.
i think he would appreciate that.

in my travels, people have treated me very courteously. i have no complaints, not regarding flight crews or other passengers. i’m purposely quiet, i don’t expect anything. but, really, people have gone out of their way to be courteous.

this was extraordinary. i am humbled.

i would not want my daughter or granddaughter to do such a thing.
i’m unclear about how i happened to do this. never ever before anything like it.
something just compelled me yesterday. i have no explanation.

[Franklin]

Kindness used to be common in America, but it is increasingly uncommon. I am reminded of Genesis 18:22-33. Sodom was condemned for unkindness to strangers. Does American culture still have 10 righteous people? I think probably, but not for much longer.

Regarding Luke 10:25-37: When Jesus was asked "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor", he answered "The one who showed mercy". Jesus did not answer that all three are neighbors. I think that Jesus is telling us who he thinks is our neighbor and who is NOT our neighbor. The concept of neighbor means member of one's community. At the time of the Old Testament, this question wasn't an issue because people lived in a close community. But Rome changed this and created a cosmopolitan empire where many different people lived together. This introduced the question of how people should be grouped; by race, by belief, or by what? Jesus's view is that a community is defined by a group of people who would help each other and who share the same god even if their race and their specific beliefs about God differ. Why did Jesus choose to contrast the Samaritan with a priest and a Levite? Because the priest represents shared belief and the Levite represents ancestry. So Jesus chose these two as examples of things that aren't a valid basis of defining a neighbor: belief and ancestry. What counts is people who are willing to help each other.

[temporal1]

Kindness used to be common in America, but it is increasingly uncommon. I am reminded of Genesis 18:22-33. Sodom was condemned for unkindness to strangers.

Does American culture still have 10 righteous people?
I think probably, but not for much longer.

Regarding Luke 10:25-37: When Jesus was asked "Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor", he answered "The one who showed mercy". Jesus did not answer that all three are neighbors. I think that Jesus is telling us who he thinks is our neighbor and who is NOT our neighbor. The concept of neighbor means member of one's community. At the time of the Old Testament, this question wasn't an issue because people lived in a close community. But Rome changed this and created a cosmopolitan empire where many different people lived together. This introduced the question of how people should be grouped; by race, by belief, or by what? Jesus's view is that a community is defined by a group of people who would help each other and who share the same god even if their race and their specific beliefs about God differ. Why did Jesus choose to contrast the Samaritan with a priest and a Levite? Because the priest represents shared belief and the Levite represents ancestry. So Jesus chose these two as examples of things that aren't a valid basis of defining a neighbor: belief and ancestry.

What counts is people who are willing to help each other.

Righteousness and kindness do not make the news/internet much, but, IRL, i find kindness and thoughtfulness more the norm than not. i have no reasons-why, but, it’s not a new phenomena.