“Please Won’t You Be My Neighbor?”
October 23, 2019Take the City Project LifeHouse Initiatives Generations of American children watched Fred Rogers begin his program each day on PBS singing this song as he came home, took off his sweater and put on his house shoes from 1968-2001. Mr Rogers programs are credited with teaching radical kindness, acceptance, and empathy to help children deal with the troubled civil unrest and rebellion against the moral, religious and legal values of our society beginning in the 1960-70s. Jesus taught radical kindness, acceptance, and empathy during His earthly ministry. Jesus responded to a question from a young Mosaic lawyer of how to inherit eternal life; by reminding him that we are to “Love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (NIV) In response to the Lawyer’s inquiry of “Who is my neighbor?”, Jesus taught the parable of the Good Samaritan going to help, bandage wounds, and carry to an inn for care; a traveler who had been robbed and beaten and left on the side of the road, from Jerusalem to Jericho. This injured man had been ignored by a priest and levite passing by on the other side of the road. Jesus asked the lawyer who had been a neighbor to the injured man and responded to the lawyer’s answer, “the one who had mercy on him”, with an admonition to “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25-36) Project LifeHouse is a Take the City initiative to bring local churches together with local business leaders in partnerships to help revitalize communities. They accomplish this by...
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