Sunday Sermon with Dr. King #3 (Part 1 of 2)

On Being a Good Neighbor, Part 1 of 2

“And who is my neighbor?”
~Luke 10:29

At the beginning of this blog series, I was blown away at Dr. King’s genius in Strength to Love* in the points he made. Additionally, in this sermon, I am in awe of how intricately, comprehensively, and thoroughly he breaks down the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), so much so, that I feel I can only reflect on it fully in two parts. This is part one of two of the same sermon reflection. Part one is a complete overview from more of a theological perspective and part two will dig deeper from an everyday human perspective. In light of the attacks going on in the Ukraine by Russia, it is apropos that this and next week, I’ll be focusing on what it means to be a good neighbor.

This sermon, “On Being a Good Neighbor” is believed to have been written and preached in Atlanta, Georgia sometime between July 1962 and March 1963**. Dr. King begins by introducing an example of a “good neighbor”, and then begins the explanation of the Good Samaritan. A lawyer asks Jesus how to inherit eternal life and Jesus asks what does the law say? The lawyer replies to love God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus tells him he has answered correctly and he is to do this. But here is the crux of the story: the lawyer then asks, “And who is my neighbor?”

This is when Jesus replies with the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Dr. King summarizes in this way:

He told the story of “a certain man” who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho among robbers who stripped him, beat him, and, departing, left him half dead. By chance a certain priest appeared, but he passed by on the other side, and later a Levite also passed by. Finally, a certain Samaritan, a half-breed from a people with whom the Jews had no dealings, appeared. When he saw the wounded man, he moved with compassion, administered first aid, placed him on his beast, “and brought him to an inn and took care of him.” (King, 1963, p. 22)

Dr. King continues to explain that the neighbor could be anyone “toward whom you are neighborly…He is neither Jew nor Gentile; he is neither Russian nor American; he is neither Negro nor white” (p.22).

THEN, the genius continues to exude when Dr. King breaks down three types of altruism that defines being a good neighbor: universal altruism, dangerous altruism, and excessive altruism. For today, I will reflect on each of these as Dr. King explains it from the point of view of the Good Samaritan. Next week, I will dig deeper into how this applies to everyday humans outside the parable.

Universal altruism is when one looks deeply beyond race, religion, and nationality. Historically, being a good neighbor has been dependent on "tribe, race, class, or nation" (p. 23). Dr. King goes on to explain that in the Old Testament,when God said "Thou shalt not kill", he meant only a fellow Israelite. In the Declaration of Independence, "All men are created equal," means "All white men" (p. 23). "Is this not why nations engage in the madness of war without the slightest sense of penitence?" (p. 23). In the current attacks on Ukraine by Russia, I think this applies where there is disregard for life and higher regard for nation - whatever the politics are behind the reasons for the attacks are held in higher esteem than the potential lives lost. Dr. King sees these narrow views as ignoring the humanness of people. "The priest and the Levite saw only a bleeding body, not a human being like themselves. But the good Samaritan will always remind us to...see men as men" (p. 24). In this Biblical account, the Jews and Samaritans did not deal with each other. So, if the Samaritan had seen the victim as a Jew first, he would not have stopped. Instead, he saw him as human first.

Dangerous altruism is risking your life to save someone else's, or save someone else's life with the risk that harm might come to you. There could have been a myriad of reasons for the priest and the Levite to choose not to stop, but the essence of was that they were afraid that something might happen to them if they stopped to help. Dr. King explained that the road at Jericho was geologically dangerous with curves and varying altitudes, even being called the Bloody Pass. He knows because he and Mrs. King took a trip there where he experienced it first hand. So, the priest and the Levite may have likely been scared thinking, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me? But by the very nature of his concern, the good Samaritan reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?" (p.26).

Finally, excessive altruism involves engaging with your neighbor first hand. The Samaritan "bound the wounds [with is own hands] of the man and then set him on his own beast" (p. 27) instead of calling for help or being afraid of getting blood on himself. Dr. King continues to state that "true altruism is more than the capacity to pity; it is the capacity to sympathize" (p. 27). Pity is when you do something for someone, rather than helping to empower them by doing something with them. With the good Samaritan, he went far and beyond by putting the wounded man on his beast, carrying him to an inn, and leaving money for him to be taken care of. This, Dr. King says, is the difference between philanthropy with a purpose, rather than just throwing money at a cause.

There is so much more to unpack for Part two! Hope you'll return for a more everyday human perspective Dr. King had on this parable! However, I will add that Dr. King, the theologian, blew me away with how he unpacked this Biblically!

*King, M. L. (1963). Strength to love. New York: Harper & Row.

**https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/draft-chapter-iii-being-good-neighbor