WE HAVE COME to the point in U.S. Christianity when many declare that loving one’s neighbor is optional. I am not sure how anyone can read the Bible and still think that God does not mind if I care less for those who are not my immediate family.
This month’s reflections are all about caring for the other. God’s love is boundless, and we are the recipients of God’s enduring mercy; thus, we can also share a part of ourselves with our neighbors near and far. God’s bountiful love is evident in the stories of Naaman and the good Samaritan. Modern-day prophet Kendrick Lamar’s voice encourages us to be humble and to remember that we are each other’s keepers. Finally, we are invited to reflect on what it means when we hear unwelcome, and horrifying, knocks on doors.
Some public figures have expressed a preoccupation with the order of people whom we are called to love first. By advocating an unnecessary and arbitrary hierarchy, the order of love is distorted into an order of hate. Yes, we love God first as Christians. Such preferential love for God is manifest in how we show God’s love to all. We can do this because the Holy Spirit empowers us to love. If we truly have Christ’s love within us, then the sanctifying grace in us overflows because God’s love knows no bounds. God’s love traverses all concentric circles that we can imagine.
July 6
A circumscribed love
2 Kings 5:1-14; Psalm 30; Galatians 6:1-16; Luke 10:1-11,16-20
A PUBLIC FIGURE recently claimed that Christianity commands us to love concentrically. That is, our concern, in this politician’s view, should start with one’s family, then one’s close friends, then one’s community, then one’s country, and then perhaps the wider world if we ever get there. At first glance, this perspective seems to make sense, since one’s limited capacity and reach can only help those who are immediate to oneself. However, caring for the other “concentrically” implies that the other can be ignored when more proximate demands become pressing. Moreover, it also assumes that one’s family is not affected by the wider world, and vice versa. Pushed further, there is also the possibility that one could sacrifice the other for the benefit of one’s immediate circle.
This pretentiously proclaimed version of love contradicts God’s hesed (grace, mercy, love, faithfulness). Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-14) is a Syrian general and colonizer who led numerous attacks on the Israelites. At first glance, it seems that his leprosy is a punishment for his evildoings. He does not deserve any help. But through the intervention of an enslaved Israelite girl, Naaman is led to Elisha, the prophet of God, who healed Naaman’s disease. It does not end there. Luke 4:16-30 revisits this passage. Jesus entered a synagogue and declared that the Lord’s favor is with the enslaved, the poor, and hungry. Jesus’ preaching was acceptable until he said that we should also love our neighbors who are like Naaman the Syrian (verse 27).
The radical message of the gospel is that we are invited to love our neighbors as we love God (Luke 10:27). The Greek word for neighbor (plesion) is not just about proximity but also about the moral and ethical obligation to care beyond oneself in general. Galatians 6:2 even encourages us to bear each other’s burden because caring for one another is the fulfillment of the law of Christ. It does not end there. We are also commanded to love even the pretentious because the gospel is that radical.
July 13
The Good Samaritan
Amos 7:7-17; Psalm 82; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37
THE GOOD SAMARITAN is a prominent story in American culture. Many movies, TV shows, and other media productions contain an element of a “good Samaritan” helping others. Superman is a classic example of a foreigner (an alien!) coming down to Earth and helping those in need. In the 2022 movie Samaritan, Sylvester Stallone stars as the protagonist who defends not only a young boy but his whole community.
Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde memorably preached on the message of the good Samaritan. She spoke at a service after the presidential inauguration on the need to show mercy to queer people and undocumented migrant workers. Many (Christian) Americans took offense at Bishop Budde’s message. They responded with words quite contrary to the spirit of Luke 10:25-37. I genuinely wonder how U.S. Christians understand the good Samaritan passage as they shout at the top of their lungs their undying desire to kick out and punish anyone who they deem “un-American” or “un-Christian.” I want to ask their definition of hospitality, unconditional love, and mercy.
Taking a step back, I also wonder if I should change my reading of the good Samaritan. That is, what if the U.S. can be seen in the man who was robbed, beaten, and left half dead? We seem to assume that this country is an unshakable rock on the hill, the Zion in which God resides. And yet, as Amos and other prophets declare from time to time, God will not spare us (Amos 7:8) if we stray from the radical message of God. Perhaps it is time for us to be humble and realize that we also need help from God and others.
July 20
Be Humble
Amos 8:1-12; Psalm 52; Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42
KENDRICK LAMAR’S SUPER Bowl LIX halftime show was the talk of the town. During Black History Month (it still exists!), Lamar once again reminded us, through his performance, of the broken promise of 40 acres and a mule, the reparations that did not happen. The crowd participated as the lights in their seating areas spelled out “Warning Wrong Way.” Lamar the prophet is telling the American people that we as a nation are headed in the wrong way. He has televised revolution and, unfortunately, received the ire that prophets get for telling the truth.
Amos 8:11-14 also prophesies that the time will come when those who do not follow the word of the Lord will experience famine. This famine is not lack of food or water. Rather, it is about lacking God’s guidance. In other words, we will be or are already lost because our nation prefers to worship greed and hatred instead of God. It seems that we have forgotten the radical message of God: to love God with all of ourselves and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37; Luke 10:27; Mark 12:30-31; Leviticus 19).
Lamar warns us to be humble. Our tongues have been like sharp razors; our works are treacherous. We love evil more than good and lying more than speaking the truth (Psalm 52:3). God can break down an empire and uproot us from the land where we are living. So, let’s be humble before the game is over. Stop listening to garbage and start paying attention to the pain and suffering of our neighbors.
July 27
A knock at the door
Hosea 1:2-10; Psalm 85; Colossians 2:6-19; Luke 11:1-13
The New Testament has two versions of the Lord’s Prayer: Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4. They are quite similar, but the verses that follow offer differing expositions. Matthew highlights the importance of forgiveness (Matthew 6:14-15) and unpretentious prayer without showcasing piety (6:16-18). Luke’s version extrapolates on the importance of supplication (Luke 11:5-13).
Luke’s narration engages the need for not only supplication but also generosity. It invites us to be generous even if it is bothersome to us personally and to our families (Luke 11:5-8). Waking up and sharing bread with one’s neighbor in the middle of the night is annoying. And yet, we are encouraged to do so. Luke calls us out on how we, the evil ones, know how to care for our young ones even though we are sinful (11:9-13). In other words, we have within us the capacity to care for the other because the Holy Spirit (verse 13) has already given us more than we need.
The gospel teaches us to knock on doors so that the blessings of God will flow: “Knock and the door will be opened for you” (Luke 11:9). Recently, some of our neighbors have been terrified by knocks on their doors from ICE agents. I understand how horrible that must feel, because I am one who sought residency in this country. Even though years have passed, I still feel scared when I hear unexpected knocks on my door.
The gospel is about mercy and being generous with our neighbors. It begs then to ask all of us: When Jesus knocks on our doors as a stranger, are we going to invite him in (Matthew 25:35) or send him to Guantánamo?
Dong Hyeon Jeong is an associate professor of New Testament Interpretation at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Illinois. He is the author of Embracing the Nonhuman in the Gospel of Mark.
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