True neighborliness is about the joy, and inconveniences, of being confronted with one another’s reality. It’s about realizing that there is someone in a ditch and not pretending you did not see them.
June 21, 2026
“Who is My Neighbor?”
Luke 10:25-37
Guest Preacher: Rev. Christy Messick
Luke 10:25-37
An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” 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.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.”
But wanting to vindicate himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 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. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came upon him, and when he saw him he was moved with compassion. 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. 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.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Who is My Neighbor? Luke 10:25-37
It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood
A beautiful day for a neighbor
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine?
Won’t you be my neighbor?
As you already probably know, I didn’t come up with those words myself. They come from a beloved song by Mister Rogers that opens each episode of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. This song invites us into a world of love, understanding, and community. When Mister Rogers asks, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” he extends an invitation for deep, meaningful connection.
In our scripture today, we hear another question about neighborliness, coming from a very different place. “Who is my neighbor?” This is the question of the lawyer in our story today, trying to figure out what exactly is required of him to attain eternal life.
The story begins with a lawyer standing up to test Jesus. Now, know that a lawyer in biblical times was an expert in religious law, not in civil law. So, this religious expert asks Jesus a question about religion, the big question about religion, you might say: “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Now, though, comes the question from the religious expert that directly leads to the Parable of the Good Samaritan. This lawyer knows that what he must do is to love God and to love his neighbor. But to justify himself, he asks Jesus a follow-up question: “Who is my neighbor?” Or, to put it another way, “Who must I love?” And who do I not have to love?
“Who is my neighbor?” This is a question that seeks boundaries: If you can tell me who my neighbors are, then I can also know who my neighbors aren’t. The lawyer desires to place limitations on whom he should love. The lawyer wants to draw a line.
In response, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. The story unfolds on the dangerous road from Jerusalem to Jericho, where a man is attacked, robbed, and left for dead. A priest and a Levite, both respected religious figures, see him but pass by without offering help. Then, a Samaritan comes along and shows him extraordinary compassion and care.
Here’s the deal. When all of us hear the phrase “good Samaritan,” we immediately think of a good neighbor. We think about the person who’s going to help the one on the side of the road because we know the story. We’ve heard the story many times, and whether you’ve grown up in church or even outside of the church when the phrase “good Samaritan” is used it’s always a positive thing. We think of good Samaritans as good people.
For us today, the term “Good Samaritan” suggests kindness and generosity. But for Jesus’ audience, the idea of a Samaritan being the hero was shocking. Jews and Samaritans held deep-seated hatred toward each other, primarily due to religious differences. The Samaritans were considered impure, and the thought of a Samaritan embodying neighborliness was radical.
Jesus’ parable flips societal expectations. It wasn’t the Jewish priest or the Levite who acted as a neighbor, but the despised Samaritan. This teaches us that true neighborliness transcends ethnic, social, and religious boundaries.
Remarkably, in a story where we are provided with the nationality of the majority of the characters, the lead character (injured man) is not given any identifying characteristic. He enters the story as a “particular man,” is abused, and then identified only by his need. He became a neighbor because he is in need of a neighbor to help him. Through these two characters in this story, Jesus shows us that it is not class, social status, nationality, or ethnic identity that defines us, but rather we are defined by our actions. Someone’s need makes them our neighbor, and our acts of love make us a neighbor in return.
Biblical scholar R. Alan Culpepper captures this shift in his Luke Commentary: “Jesus has turned the issue from the boundaries of required neighborliness to the essential nature of neighborliness. Neighbors are defined actively, not passively… Neighbors do not recognize social class. Neither is mercy the conduct of a calculating heart, nor eternal life the reward for doing prescribed duties. Eternal life – the life of the age to come – is that quality of life characterized by showing mercy for those in need, regardless of their race, religion, or region – and with no thought of reward. Mercy sees only need and responds with compassion.”
By identifying the Samaritan and defying the cultural expectations by showing a compassionate Samaritan, Jesus forces us to look beyond outward identity and toward outward action. True neighborliness is about the joy and inconveniences of being confronted with one another’s reality. It’s about realizing that there is someone in a ditch and not pretending we haven’t seen them. Being a neighbor in the way Jesus calls us to is the difficult commission to allow our own lives and plans to be inconvenienced for the sake of another.
Ultimately, Jesus does not directly answer the question of “who is my neighbor?” Jesus instead asks, “Which of these three was a neighbor?” This reversal asks us to be more concerned with acting neighborly towards the other than with deciding who is our neighbor. Acts of mercy are not to be done based on our neighbor’s worth but rather on their need.
In reading “The Cost of Discipleship” by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, I was hit by a striking challenge. Bonhoeffer submits that “we have literally no time to ask ourselves whether so-and-so is our neighbor or not. We must get into action and obey – we must behave like a neighbor to [them],” and be willing to admit that perhaps “[we ourselves] are the neighbor” being asked to receive love from an enemy.
Usually, we would identify ourselves as the helper. But what if we identified, instead, with the man who was beaten and robbed and left for dead on the side of the road. And the way that we understand this parable is that when we need help, we don’t always get to choose who helps us. We don’t get to choose our neighbor. This man on the side of the road was forced to receive help from the Samaritan because the priest and Levite ignored him. When we are desperate enough, we don’t worry about what our neighbor looks like. We are just grateful to be helped.
Who is my neighbor? Maybe it is whoever is willing to help us. That can be a hard lesson for us, of course. We don’t like to think that we need help. We like to think that we are the helper, not the helpless.
Think of the person or group of people you dislike the most, that disgust that makes you not want to be within 100 miles of that person – a person that you perceive as a villain; that’s who you should picture in this parable. Imagine, for a moment, the person you dislike the most being the one who stops to help you when you’re in desperate need. Or consider the reverse: you come across someone you despise who needs your help. This is the radical love Jesus calls us to—a love that recognizes everyone as our neighbor.
Have you ever been to the airport and sat down across from someone you’re certain would disagree with you on every one of your fundamental beliefs? You can just tell by the way they dress, the book they’re reading, the news channel they are watching— your view of the world and theirs must be irreconcilable. Are you picturing that person in your mind? Great. That’s your neighbor. And so is the man asking for change at the red light. And the family member who is estranged. And the person you’re hoping doesn’t move in next door. The person holding up a sign telling you that you are going to Hell because of who you are. They’re all your neighbors. They are our neighbors.
Jesus held a simple and unfiltered belief — everyone is a neighbor. Everyone in every sense of the word, not just the people in our orbit whom we have something in common with but also the ones we don’t notice, the people we don’t value, and those we don’t welcome.
In a world often divided by differences, Jesus’ message about neighborliness transcends boundaries and challenges us to embrace a radical inclusivity. The parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us that being a neighbor goes beyond mere proximity or shared identity; it is defined by our actions of love and mercy toward those in need. This means that everyone we encounter, regardless of their background or our preconceived notions, is our neighbor.
As Mister Rogers famously invited, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” we are called to extend that same invitation to everyone around us. This is not a mandate but an invitation to live the best way of life—one marked by mercy, compassion, and a genuine connection with others.
So, as we navigate our daily lives, let us strive to see and respond to the needs of those around us, allowing our plans to be interrupted by acts of kindness. In doing so, we fulfill the call to love our neighbors as ourselves, creating a community where everyone is valued and cared for. Let us embrace the discomfort and the joy that comes with being true neighbors, just as Jesus taught us.
Won’t you be my neighbor? Amen.
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