Sermon 2019.05.12
Stranger Danger
(Luke 10:29-37; sermon 2 of 4 in series “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”)

1. Won’t you be my neighbor?  This year Onalaska UMC is focusing on our connections. In February we talked about our connections to each other in church – we are family! This month we are looking at our connections to our neighbors and asking Mr. Roger’s old question – won’t you be my neighbor?

Last week heard how a lawyer asked Jesus what was necessary to inherit eternal life. Jesus’ answer frames what we call the great commandment: “Love God with everything you’ve got, and love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Luke 10:25-28). 

Got it: love God, love neighbor, love self. Easy! We can do that, right?

2. Loopholes.  But lawyers being lawyers, the guy couldn’t leave it there. As the Message says, “Looking for a loophole, he asked, ‘And just how would you define neighbor?’” (Luke 10:29 MSG).

Quick aside: one of my North Carolina churches had two prominent lawyers, brothers, in the congregation of 25. On Holy Humor Sunday, the elder of the two stood up and asked, “What do you call a hundred lawyers chained together at the bottom of the ocean?” I replied, “I don’t know, George. What do you call a hundred lawyers chained together at the bottom of the ocean?” He grinned and answered, “A good start!” …

It’s easy to poke fun at lawyers, but honestly, we’re all lawyers at heart. We’re always looking for the loophole, or passing the buck: “It’s not my fault, God!” You can see this in the story of the very first sin, when God the judge confronts Adam and Eve about breaking the rule and eating the forbidden fruit. Adam says, “The woman you gave me, gave me the fruit, and yes, I ate it” (Genesis 3:12 MSG). Eve says, “The serpent seduced me, and I ate” (3:13b).

How often do our prayers sound like two-bit lawyers standing before Judge Judy in People’s Court: “But, yer honor, it weren’t my fault! The devil made me do it!”

We are always looking for loopholes. But God the judge fires right back at us: “What part of love your neighbor don’t you understand?”

3. Stranger danger!  Culturally, we’re programmed to be distrustful of strangers. Our moms – God bless ‘em – tried to keep us safe by telling us not to trust strangers. Stranger danger! The message was hammered home at school and on TV. We were warned…

Don't trust strangers / Don't talk to strangers / Don't walk with strangers / 
Don't go anywhere with strangers!

While that’s good advice to protect kids, experts point out that we develop a sense of “moral panic” regarding anyone we are unfamiliar with in society. Our mistrust and fear are fed by the news, which tend to overemphasize rare cases of actual abductions.

As adults, we still tend to treat strangers with a sense of panic and fear, whether they are our neighbor or some person we meet on the street. Or worse, we look at strangers as someone to blame. Stranger danger!

4. Us versus them.  Friends, it is oh-so-human to draw lines, to fear strangers, to place blame. We see the world as us versus them. Stranger danger is hardwired into our system, a fight-or-flight instinct that people manipulate and take advantage of. We hear it all the time:

•	Those illegal immigrants… they are sneaking criminals into the country and stealing our jobs. They’re out to get us. It’s us vs. them.
•	Those Muslims, those Jews, those atheists… they took away our Christmas cups at Starbucks. We can’t pray in schools. They’re out to get us. It’s us vs. them.
•	Those gays… they want to destroy our families. They’re out to get us. It’s us vs. them.
•	Those poor people… they’re lazy and only want handouts. Those rich people… they’re greedy cheaters who take what’s not theirs. They’re out to get us. It’s us vs. them.
•	Those Republicans, those Democrats… they’re all crooks and hypocrites who steal our money and waste it. They’re out to get us. It’s us vs. them.

Those people aren’t us. Those people are dangerous strangers. It’s us versus them.

5. Jesus’ thriller.  So who is my neighbor? Jesus’ answer to the lawyer’s loophole question turns the tables on stranger danger. We’ve heard the Good Samaritan story so often that we tend to take it for granted. But Jesus constructs this little story with a master’s touch – it’s a Hitchcock thriller, a Twilight Zone episode, and we don’t know who’s the hero until the end.

A man is walking down the street. Maybe the man is the hero? But no, he gets attacked, mugged and left to bleed out in the gutter. He’s the victim. Stranger danger!

A pastor walks down the street and sees the man. I bet the pastor helps him! But no, the pastor has an appointment. He hurries by, trying not to make eye contact. Stranger danger!

A nurse walks down the street. I bet this woman helps the man! But no, she is worried the muggers might return, and she hurries by too. Stranger danger!

A stranger walks down the street. We don’t expect much of him. But he turns out to be the hero, the one person who stops to help, who goes out of his way to help. The stranger we would fear the most – a Samaritan, a Muslim, an illegal immigrant, a trans man, an ex-convict – that’s the hero of Jesus’ story. That’s the neighbor who shows love.

6. There’s only us.  Jesus makes it clear: where we want to separate the world into us and them… there’s only us. And when we draw lines and mistrust and hate people, we are breaking up the kingdom of God and missing some beautiful opportunities. 

Hebrews 13:2 says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.” You might remember that, since it’s our church WiFi password! It’s not us and them… it’s only us.

The real danger of strangers is when we fear and mistrust them, instead of talking to them. Because when we talk to them, we find out that they are also children of God. It’s not us and them… it’s only us.

They laugh and cry and struggle and triumph just like we do. They aren’t strangers at all. They are us… they are our neighbors… and they are worthy of God’s love and our love.

- Amen.