Being Called to Love My Actual Neighbours

We're starting this brand new sermon series called The Art of Neighbouring by using this book.

And we're starting it as we come into spring and hopefully we're coming out of lockdown,

which should mean that we can spend a lot more time outside and see a lot more of our neighbours locally.

And during this whole sermon series, we're going to be asking ourselves, what does it look like to love our neighbours?

The ones we live beside, the ones we work alongside, maybe physically or virtually,

and what it means to love the people here in Clevedon, where God's placed us.

To start off, we think about the famous verse from Matthew 22, where Jesus gives us that command to love our neighbours as ourselves.

A couple of years ago, I was really fortunate to help to facilitate something called a poverty and community hearing,

which gathered a lot of people together for one afternoon.

There was a lot of religious and faith leaders there, charity leaders, school leaders, that kind of thing, all together.

And also some people there that shared testimonies of their lives and how the hardships that they'd faced during their lives,

the effect that it had on them and the things that had been helpful to them during that time,

and also the things that had not been so helpful.

And one of the things that was highlighted, which was really interesting,

was the fact that a lot of them said that although in the past there had been some excellent events and groups and things started

by getting grants from councils and the government and things,

they'd maybe run for two or three years, but gradually the money had fizzled out,

and so those groups had stopped, and so those people then had been left in the lurch.

And one of the council leaders said something really interesting,

and he said he thought that one of the best ways to make life a lot better for people

was for people to have and live amongst good neighbours,

people that cared about the area they lived in and cared about the people also that were there.

This was really challenging for everybody that was there,

but especially for those church leaders who, like many church leaders,

are really good at putting on events and programmes,

but actually might spend their time doing that and actually overlook that basic call to love your neighbour.

So in this series, we're going to start unpacking this question,

what does it mean to love our neighbours, and who are our neighbours,

and what is that call in Matthew 22 to love our neighbours as ourselves,

how can we put that into practice here in Clevedon?

That passage is again one of the most famous passages probably in the Bible,

and again the context of it is the Jewish leaders that are there at the time

trying to put Jesus through the ringer and catch him out, as they often did.

They wanted to expose him because the things he said about himself and his authority,

they didn't like, they thought he was a heretic and he was a fraud,

and they wanted to trip him up.

And so when they ask him,

teacher, what is the most commandment in the law?

That's not a hypothetical question for them.

They had over 600 laws that they used to have to keep.

And when he answers them back,

he quotes from the Old Testament passage Deuteronomy 5,

which they would have known, and he says to them,

it says,

love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength.

That is the first and the greatest commandment.

And in saying that, they're quite happy with that one.

But then he adds to them a bonus answer,

which they're not that keen on,

because he says,

the second commandment is that you must love your neighbour as yourself.

From the commentaries I've read,

it's not a hierarchical thing.

They're loving your God first,

and then second to that, loving your neighbour.

They're not split.

It's actually, they're both held together.

And actually to love the Lord is to love your neighbour.

And in order to love your neighbours properly,

you need to love God,

and you need to have his help to do that.

There's lots you could say about these commands,

but this morning I just want to look at two aspects

of how we can actually apply them to our lives.

And the first thing is,

I find it really striking that when Jesus summarises the Old Testament

and what it means to be a believer,

he summarises it with the word love.

And it seems to me,

and sadly in this culture,

we as Christians are often looked upon,

those people who don't do this,

and they don't do that,

and they're opposed to this,

and they're opposed to that,

and everybody knows what we're against,

but actually they don't know what we're for.

Now we do have some really important rules,

but it really saddens me that often the takeaway

by non-Christians about us and our lives

is not that love underpins it.

If we're not grounded in love,

what's the point of being a Christian?

And the best analogy I can think of

is looking at a marriage.

We probably have all been to lots of weddings.

I've been to many as a guest,

and I might think about it slightly differently

when I'm actually able to officiate at them.

But one of the best things that I love

when I'm at a wedding

is to see the young couple there

making their vows to each other.

And I often think back to myself,

my husband's wedding,

which is many moons ago now,

and I think those vows they're making,

they don't really have a clue

what they mean when they're saying them.

You know, it means,

as well as the good times,

when things are really grim,

that actually we still surrender to each other.

We still give each other to each other.

And they're the vows that those ceremony means.

But why are they making those vows?

They're making them because they love each other.

When they're healthy and when they're sick,

they're promising to stay together

when they've got money, when they're not.

They wouldn't make those vows

if they didn't love each other.

And that too is the essence of our Christian faith.

A father who comes to his bride, the church,

and he gives himself in covenant and faithfulness.

And as a church,

we respond by giving our whole lives to him

as an offering.

Our minds, our desires, and everything we have.

And the second thing is

the way that Jesus really annoys the Pharisee

as he leaves that kind of openness to the Pharisees

about loving their neighbours

that they really can't agree with.

This passage,

love your neighbour as yourself,

is also told in the passage

that was read to us this morning

in Luke 10, verses 25 to 37,

Luke 10:25–37

when the Pharisee basically said,

hang on a minute,

who is my neighbour?

And let me just clarify this.

Let me just get this clarified.

And Jesus said,

love your neighbour as yourself.

And that does mean loving the neighbour

who looks like you,

lives near you,

talks like you,

has the same opinions as you.

But also it means loving the neighbour

who is not like you,

the one who doesn't like your Christian faith,

the one who cooks very different food to you,

the one who might smell a bit,

the one that might have mental illness,

or the one that's really annoying

because they're always gossiping,

fill in the blanks as you need to.

But those are the neighbours

that we're called to love.

And of course,

the Pharisees,

when they heard him speak like this,

this really touched a nerve with them

because they were embedded in Jewish society.

All their friends and family and neighbours

would have been Jews.

They would have all grown up

with similar backgrounds

and understanding of the scripture.

And they really didn't like the other.

They really hated the Romans.

And they wanted the answer to be

loving my neighbours,

like loving people like me.

But actually Jesus was saying to them,

you know those Romans over there,

you're called to love them too as yourself.

You, like me,

have probably heard and read

the Good Samaritan passage many times

and heard it preached about

throughout our lives.

And we can often think,

okay, who's my neighbour?

He is the one who lives across the road,

but actually it's people that live

in the other parts of the world,

immigrants, refugees,

people that are not like me,

different cultures,

ethnicities, etc.

They are also my neighbour.

And don't get me wrong,

these people are our neighbours.

But we can often think like that,

but avoid the more trickier question

about what about my actual neighbours?

You know, the ones that live right beside me,

right next door,

or right above me,

or below me,

or across the road from me.

What about those neighbours?

And I want to ask ourselves

a simple question.

What if what Jesus is saying

actually includes

our physical geographical neighbours?

And if that is it,

it might be a bit uncomfortable

because actually many

church surveys have been done,

it says in this book,

that said that actually many people

don't know their neighbours

hardly at all.

I'm wondering whether

the only bright spark of COVID

might be that actually

in this country,

we may now know our neighbours

better than we did

maybe a year ago.

And this week,

after the service,

or maybe in your small groups,

it'd be really good

to actually start filling in

this grid

that you would have been sent out

by email,

or you could just draw yourself one.

We're putting yourself

and your family,

whatever,

right in the centre

and the details about you.

And then throughout the series,

populating the rest of these boxes,

which are the houses

that are right beside you

or across the road from you.

Populating that with information,

people's names,

some names you might know them,

maybe you don't,

and maybe using this time

to actually find out

more information

about those closest people to you.

So you might know their names,

you might know something about them,

like their hobbies

or something like that

and what they like doing.

And then maybe actually

if you also know

some deeper stuff about them,

if you've got a better relationship,

and that'd be really interesting

to find out those people

that you do know

and those people that you don't.

In the book,

The Art of Neighbouring,

it says that they did

that particular exercise

with lots of people

in lots of churches

and they found

that a lot of people

didn't know their neighbours,

including church leaders

who may only know

one or two people

on their street

because they're so busy

out doing other stuff.

People may have lived

on their own street

for maybe 10 or 20 years

and they don't know anything

much about their neighbours

apart from maybe

just saying hello to them

in the morning

or waving to them

as they put the bins out.

But wouldn't it be great

if we could extend ourselves

and our hospitality

to our neighbours

that through this

they realise

that we are that person,

the person

that has the loving ear,

the caring ear,

the loving neighbour,

the non-judgeable presence

who can pray for them

in their back garden

and who they can talk to them

about real stuff

that's going on

with their lives.

That's neighbouring.

And it seems to me,

and maybe talk about this

in your small group,

that we need to

maybe think differently

about our homes

and our streets

and our neighbourhoods.

And hopefully this whole

sermon series

will help us to do that.

A while ago

there was a glut

of sort of

home improvement

lifestyle programmes

and I don't know about you

but I got quite into them.

Things like

Location, Location, Location

or Grand Designs

or Escape to the Country.

But I found that

although I liked them

I had to actually

stop watching them

because they weren't great

for my mental health

or my mood

because I would turn

the programme off

with a beautiful

staged home

and everything being perfect

and then look down

at my carpet

and think,

well that's hideous

and I then look

at my house

and think,

well this is a right mess,

you know,

why can't my house

look more like

the ones on TV?

But those shows

are made

by and large,

not always,

but they tend

to reduce the place

that you live in

to the square footage,

the curb appeal,

the price

and the resale value.

And this can lead us

into telling ourselves

a story about

the places that we live

that has nothing to do

with being a disciple

of Jesus.

And what I want

to say to you today

is to think about

what it is

and what it could be like

if actually God

in his sovereign

and amazing grace

has placed you

where you live.

And the reason

that you're where you are,

even if it's only

for a few years,

is to be a beacon

of love,

of life and grace

for Christ

in that place.

Do you think

this could be

a real possibility?

that the neighbours

you have

are the ones

that God wants

you to have.

And if you were

to say,

oh please,

you know,

put me in a place

where I can

share your good news,

he'd say,

you know what,

you're there.

And that living

in your house,

you're not living there

because your house

is beautiful

or it's worth

lots of money

or it's got

a great curb appeal

or a fantastic

school catchment area

but because Jesus

wants us to be

the neighbours

and ambassadors

for him

to that people

and to that place

and you are

the perfect person

to do that job.

When you get

to know people better,

their stories

will inevitably,

you know,

involve difficult things

like hardship

and conflict

and isolation.

But our homes

and our gardens

at the moment

can be safe spaces

that we can invite

those neighbours into

to come and share

a meal with us,

to come and chat

where we can love

them properly

and that is the new

narrative that we

need to live in.

And that's the new

narrative that we

can walk in

step by step,

maybe by moving

from just a stranger

to an acquaintance

and then from an

acquaintance to a

friendship.

And maybe the first

step for you

is just having that

sort of awkward

conversation like

I've seen you

walking your dog

or putting your

bins out every day

for the past 10

years and I don't

know who you are.

I'm so-and-so

and it's really great

to meet you

and be your neighbour.

And then the second

step is looking for

opportunities and

praying that God

will show you things

that you can do

in your local area

and the people

that you can actually

make a difference

with.

And what I'm saying

is not just that

you're going to

pull your bootstraps

up and do this

all in your own

strength and start

really loving and

caring for that

really irritable

neighbour that you've

got down the street

which I'm sure we

all have got one of

them.

To engage with that

neighbour we can

only do that by

having God's love

to help us because

that love doesn't

come from us,

it comes from him

and his power comes

from him as well.

because God loves

us the same as

he loves them,

the God who

breaks through our

sin and comes

into our life and

gives us the gospel

of Jesus Christ that

we don't deserve

either, who comes

in and empowers us

with his spirit to

help us to do the

things that we can't

naturally do on our

own.

This is the power

and the love that's

going to help us to

love our neighbour

step by step, day

by day.

Amen.

Amen.