Loving Our Neighbor in a Hostile Climate
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Sermon by Jason Isbell This week’s sermon is on Luke 10:25–37, the parable of the Good Samaritan, paired with 2 Chronicles 28:1–15. Jesus answers the question “who is my neighbor” with a story that crosses deep lines of hatred and prejudice, and we pair it with a lesser-known Old Testament story where an entire nation, not just one person, chooses mercy toward people they had every right to despise. The sermon connects that ancient call to costly, collective mercy with the unease and hostility many of our neighbors are living with right now, here in this city and in our nation. It closes with a reading of Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Kindness,” which speaks to what it costs to actually learn mercy firsthand.