Expanding Our Boundaries: The Call to Radical Neighborliness

Today’s gathering was a celebration of community, welcome, and the ever-expanding boundaries of God’s love. After returning from time away, it was a joy to see familiar faces and new ones, to be reminded of the gift of belonging to a family of faith that walks together through joys and challenges. We shared updates about our church’s life—repairing the bell tower, preparing for the older adults’ retreat, and the excitement of Praise Camp week. We paused to pray for those among us facing illness and surgery, and to rejoice with those celebrating milestones and new beginnings.

Turning to the Gospel of Luke, we revisited the parable of the Good Samaritan—a story so familiar that its radical edge can be dulled by time and repetition. In Jesus’ day, the word “Samaritan” was not synonymous with “good.” The original listeners would have been shocked to hear a despised outsider cast as the hero. But the story is not just about doing good deeds for strangers; it’s about the boundaries we draw around the word “neighbor,” and how Jesus challenges us to expand those boundaries beyond comfort and prejudice.

We often read this parable as a call to be the hero, to act with compassion and courage like the Samaritan. Yet, the deeper invitation is to see ourselves as the one in need—beaten, vulnerable, and dependent on the mercy of someone we might otherwise avoid or even despise. Jesus’ story asks us to imagine our salvation coming from the least likely source, to let our souls be enlarged by the grace that comes from “the other.” In this, the parable becomes not just a lesson in kindness, but a challenge to let God transform our hearts, to make room at our table for those we once called outsiders.

As we gathered at the communion table, we remembered that Christ meets the needs of all, even those who did not expect or desire his help. The table is a place where the boundaries of neighborliness are erased, and where we are called to pull up another chair, to welcome, to be changed, and to go and do likewise.

Key Takeaways

• 1. True neighborliness is not about proximity, similarity, or shared background, but about the willingness to see and respond to the needs of others—even, and especially, those we might otherwise avoid. Jesus refuses to give us a checklist for who qualifies as our neighbor; instead, he tells a story that explodes our categories and calls us to radical openness. [40:08]
• 2. The parable of the Good Samaritan is not just a call to heroic acts of compassion, but an invitation to recognize our own vulnerability. We are not always the helper; sometimes we are the one in need, dependent on the mercy of someone we would never have chosen. This reversal humbles us and opens us to grace from unexpected places. [43:52]
• 3. Our prejudices and boundaries are often revealed by the question, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus’ story presses us to confront the people we would cross the street to avoid, and to imagine them as the very ones God might use to save us. The enlargement of our souls begins when we allow ourselves to be helped by those we least expect. [50:37]
• 4. The transformation Jesus seeks is not just in our actions, but in the “small house” of our souls. When we receive mercy from the outsider, our understanding of community and belonging is stretched. The us-versus-them mentality is broken down, and the kingdom of God grows wider as we welcome those we once excluded. [53:45]
• 5. The communion table is a living symbol of this radical hospitality. Here, Christ meets all of us—insiders and outsiders, the worthy and the unworthy—and makes us neighbors. Each time we gather, we are challenged to pull up another chair, to let our hearts be enlarged, and to go out into the world ready to love beyond our limits. [58:02]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [02:30] - Opening Greetings and Community Connection
• [05:12] - Announcements: Bell Tower Update
• [09:10] - Upcoming Events and Praise Camp Preparation
• [19:11] - Celebrations and Prayer Concerns
• [21:17] - Pastoral Prayer and Lord’s Prayer
• [26:10] - Introduction to the Good Samaritan Parable
• [27:11] - Reading from Luke 10:25-37
• [29:40] - Prayer of St. Augustine
• [33:23] - Modern Good Samaritan Stories
• [36:13] - The Lawyer’s Question: Who Is My Neighbor?
• [39:19] - Theological Boundaries of Neighborliness
• [42:37] - Reimagining the Parable: Seeing Ourselves as the Victim
• [50:37] - Confronting Prejudice: Who Would You Avoid?
• [53:45] - The Heart of the Parable: Expanding Our Souls
• [55:35] - Jesus’ Challenge: Go and Do Likewise
• [56:08] - Communion: The Table of Radical Welcome
• [58:02] - Prayer for an Enlarged Soul
• [60:14] - Closing Hymn and Benediction
• [67:46] - Dismissal and Opportunities to Serve

Bible Reading

Luke 10:25-37 (ESV) — 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.”

Observation Questions

1. According to the parable, who were the three people who saw the man in need, and how did each respond? (Luke 10:31-33)
2. What question did the lawyer ask Jesus that led to the telling of this parable? [39:19]
3. In the sermon, what was said about how the original listeners would have felt about the Samaritan being the hero of the story? [26:10]
4. What does Jesus say at the end of the parable in response to the lawyer’s answer? (Luke 10:37)

Interpretation Questions

1. Why do you think Jesus chose a Samaritan—someone despised by the original audience—to be the one who showed mercy? What point was he making about the boundaries of “neighbor”? [26:10]
2. The sermon suggests that we often see ourselves as the hero in the story, but Jesus invites us to imagine ourselves as the one in need. What does this shift in perspective reveal about our own vulnerability and need for grace? [43:52]
3. How does the question “Who is my neighbor?” reveal our own prejudices or boundaries? What are some modern examples of people we might “cross the street to avoid”? [50:37]
4. The sermon mentions that the transformation Jesus seeks is not just in our actions, but in the “small house” of our souls. What does it mean for our souls to be “enlarged” by receiving mercy from outsiders? [53:45]

Application Questions

1. Think of a time when you were in need and someone unexpected helped you. How did that experience challenge or change your view of who your “neighbor” is? [43:52]
2. The sermon asks us to consider who we would least want to receive help from. Who comes to mind for you, and why do you think that is? What would it look like to let God use that person to “enlarge your soul”? [50:37]
3. Are there people or groups in your life that you tend to avoid, ignore, or judge as “outsiders”? What is one practical step you could take this week to move toward them in love or openness? [40:08]
4. The communion table was described as a place where boundaries are erased and all are welcomed. How can you make your own table—your home, your life, your church—more welcoming to those who feel like outsiders? [58:02]
5. The parable ends with Jesus’ command: “Go and do likewise.” What is one specific way you can show mercy to someone outside your comfort zone this week? [55:35]
6. When have you found it hardest to accept help or kindness from someone you didn’t expect? What kept you from receiving, and what might help you be more open in the future? [43:52]
7. The sermon talked about the “us-versus-them” mentality being broken down by Jesus’ story. Where do you see this mentality in your own heart or in our community, and how can you work to break it down? [53:45]