Another Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

     It wasn't too long ago that we watched the excellent remake of the movie, "Won't You Be My Neighbor," with Tom Hanks playing the role of Fred Rogers.  It was a touching film that focused on the traits of someone full of grace and truth.  During this time of social distancing, a new Bible study was published on 'Rightnowmedia' called "The Art of Neighboring."   The title piqued my interest, so I started watching the first of four videos that talked about how we apply the principle found within the Bible that we call "The Great Command." 

     In Luke chapter 10, we see the story of the lawyer who asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life.  This question was asked without sincerity to test the man he called "Teacher," not Rabbi or Lord.  Jesus asked the lawyer to paraphrase how he understood what was written in the Law.  The lawyer responded by quoting Scripture. "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." (Luke 10:27)  How easy was that for him to recite the Law back to Jesus?  We, too, being very familiar with this passage  could easily recite it back word for word.  Knowing and doing are two different things.  Jesus' response is clear, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live," recorded in verse 28. 

     The lawyer did not find peace in knowing the right answer, he wished to justify himself by asking, "And who is my neighbor?" At this request, Jesus did not respond with another question, but instead told a parable.  The Parable of the Good Samaritan is recorded in Luke 10:25-37 (found at the end of this article).  Then he asked, "Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?"   The answer came easily to the lawyer, "the one who showed mercy." Jesus then replied, "You go, and do likewise."   Wouldn't you agree that sometimes we can find a clear personal application from Scriptures; whereas, other times it requires some digging?  In this passage, the application is obvious.  Jesus gives us an example of how to be neighborly.  He does not define neighbor as the one who shares the same street name, but neighbor is characterized by those we encounter in life, whether we choose to engage with them or not.

     The Bible Study called "The Art of Neighboring" has helped me to realize that I am falling short of the command to "go and do likewise."  I have come to neglect those who live in the same location where we have established roots.  No one forced us to live in our neighborhood.  The location of our abode should represent more than claims on a piece of property with construction containing walls and windows.  Maybe it is a generational trait that has long been forgotten, but I remember the neighborhood where I grew up.  We had approximately 70 homes who share the same street name as my own.  I knew most of them by name.  When I turned the corner and headed down the next street, another 80 homes where I knew at least half of those families.  It wasn't unheard of to stop at the end of most driveways and shout a hello which would often be accompanied by a lengthy conversation about life.  My mother would host coffee breaks with neighbor ladies who would gather in our kitchen.  They always loved seeing my mom walk down the street with a dessert in hand, as she practiced her skills of cake decorating on the neighbors.   Homemade jams and an abundance of garden vegetables were always shared on the most unsuspecting families.     
  

     Those memories are a far cry from the way we view our neighbors today.  We watch as their SUV's pull in and out of garage doors which automatically rise and fall with the push of a button.  We focus on making our friends outside the neighborhood searching for people we find the most in common.  If someone raises their kids slightly different than the way we raise ours, or they allow their pets to cross over the boundary of property lines, many believe that gives us the right to never speak or acknowledge one another again.  How have we become so desensitized to the way Jesus would want us to build relationships?

     I am still fortunate to observe the way my mom treats her neighbors as she lives in a retirement community in another state.  She has developed wonderful skills in the art of neighboring.  She writes hand-written notes and deposits them in breeze-way baskets intended for personal correspondence, no stamp required.  When people pass on the street they often wave and smile regardless of whether they know one another's name.  If a stranger shows up at the community pool, they will be greeted with polite conversation.  Albeit a warmer climate where people spend more time outdoors and have more free-time than most, still their friendly greeting only requires the change of a facial muscle and a wave of the hand that takes only seconds.  I admire their dedication to making one another feel loved.

     Challenged by the thought, 'How many people could I recognize if I encountered them outside the neighborhood,' I resolved to make a change.  Even with social distancing, it is not impossible to create relationships with a little enginuity.  I pulled up a picture of my neighborhood on Google® maps.  Two streets, two cul-de-sacs, I numbered the houses, 31.   With each block on the map, I looked up the specific house number and tried to identify the family who made that their home.  About fifteen years ago, we created a neighborhood directory that allow all of us to know the names of everyone in each home including pets.  Sadly outdated, I made the decision to resolve this issue.  How difficult would it be to create an updated version.  Many families have lived in our neighborhood at least five to ten years.  I soon discovered that I had lost track of many family details.  What were the names and ages of their children?  How many of those kids had moved away from home?  How many were married?  The three closest house to ours (east, west, and north with wetlands behind us) had held ten different families in the last seventeen years.  Is this a testimony of our neighboring skills?  It was fairly easy to discover that more than half the families living within the boundaries of our neighborhood had turned over several times.  It's a great neighborhood in a wonderful school district.  Even our children began to recount old friends they use to play with, now gone.  A transient society, yet we made no effort to keep in touch with any who had moved away.  We now recognize that we have contributed to the problem we can easily identify, we have stopped caring, we will be held accountable.

     It has taken about ten days and creative solutions to discover all the names of everyone who currently lives within this 30 house radius.  We have acquired updated phone numbers, email addresses, and made several Facebook® connections.   Although not everyone has not been comfortable providing contact information, many have accepted friendship requests.  This is a starting point that may change the nature of how we reach out to our neighbors.  We should keep in mind that our attempts to build bridges may not always work the way we intend it to.  We must become the people who extend mercy who remain skeptical.  

     As I walk around the neighborhood with my husband, I share with him who lives behind this door or that.  Eventually we will be able to match names with faces.  We have held several meaningful conversations with our girls about how Jesus responded to people he met.  He didn't look for those he held things in common with, the Bible speaks of quite the opposite, the woman at the well, tax collectors, those with infirmities, and others living with evil spirits.  1 John 2:6 (ESV) sheds light on what we as believers are called to do.  "Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." I don't expect that it will be easy to change the patterns we have developed over the years.  We've truly missed many relationships right underneath our noses.  Still, I am grateful to see our neighborhood as a place that presents the perfect opportunity to grow and become more like Jesus. 

     As of late, we had made contact with all but two neighbors in less than two weeks.  We have hand-carried two envelopes and placed them in mailboxes asking for connections where we could not acquire any information.  The internet has been very useful, but verification of information has proven quite necessary.  As I write this brief account, I glance out my kitchen window and notice a U-Haul® van driving down the street.  I am guessing that I will have much opportunity to develop better neighboring skills.  

Luke 10:25–37 (ESV) The Parable of the Good Samaritan 25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" 27 And 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 answered correctly; do this, and you will live." 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" 30 Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, 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, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" 37 He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise."