Rooted
Life on mission | week 2
For the Participant
As we think about Life on Mission, we talked last time about speaking of Jesus as a practical way to engage in missional living. Today, we want to give you another tool for missional living—and that is the practice of Neighboring.
Learning objective: to gain practical tools for engaging in loving your actual neighbors.
Prior to meeting with your mentor or small group, please do the following:
WATCH:
Learning objective: to gain practical tools for engaging in loving your actual neighbors.
Prior to meeting with your mentor or small group, please do the following:
WATCH:
READ:
- “On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “ ‘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, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”” (Luke 10:25–37, NIV)
- Balancing our fears and discernment is another issue that we all must confront. When it comes to meeting your neighbors for the first time, you don’t want to abandon your discernment. And certainly caution is justified when you encounter strangers.
Yet there is often a part of fear that isn’t justified, and you have to push past it. Be thoughtful about whom to approach and how. But also know, at the end of the day, following Jesus is not necessarily designed to be safe. Safety is a natural desire but it can keep us from being like Jesus in the midst of an unsafe world. Actually, much of our “fear” is better labeled “timidity.” It can happen when there is an awkward lapse in social interaction, when a pause lasts too long. Or perhaps someone tells a joke and no one laughs. Or maybe you don't know what to say first. It can be hard to break the ice. Sure, it doesn’t feel natural to walk up to a stranger’s door and offer her a pie you’ve just baked. These are the times when you whisper to yourself things like: “This is strange. These people are going to think that this is really weird.” Or “I’m an introvert and there has to be someone on this block better suited for this.” Even “This isn’t the right time; maybe I’ll take the initiative and meet them next week” (or next month, or next year). This feeling of awkwardness isn’t fear –it’s just nervousness about possible rejection. The truth it, awkwardness won’t kill you. In 2 Timothy Paul writes: “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (1:7). God enables all of us to be bold, to take the first step, to be the neighbor we were meant to be. We don’t need to be afraid. When we feel those emotions creeping in, we need to remind ourselves that enduring awkwardness is probably the worst of it.
—Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon, The Art of Neighboring, pg.67-68
WRITE AND REFLECT:
Rooted Content
Rooted Content
- How might taking Jesus seriously when he tells us to love our neighbors change the nature of your neighborhood? How might it change our city?
- What hesitations, if any, do you have about getting to know your neighbors? If you do know them, what has your experience been? Has it been easy or difficult to get to know them?
- Often, we hesitate knowing our neighbor out of anxiety, timidity, aversion to risk, awkwardness or simply a desire to maintain our own comfort. Which of these do you find most active in your life when it comes to knowing your neighbors?
- Beyond holiness relating to a person’s morality, what does holy mean?
- How does the metaphor of the sun as representing God’s holiness help us?
- God’s temple was the primary place in the Old Testament where God’s presence dwelt. How did people come close to God’s good and holy presence without getting harmed? What book of the Bible gave God’s people instructions for becoming pure?
- How does the story of Isaiah change our understanding of purity and impurity passing from one thing to another?
- How is the vision of Ezekiel, in which water flowing from the temple made everything fresh and alive, fulfilled in Jesus?
- The New Testament speaks of the people of God themselves has his temple—the place where God’s holy presence dwells. How do we, the church, continue living out Ezekiel’s vision fulfilled in Jesus?
- This week, practice the art of neighboring.
- Go meet your neighbors and find out their names. If you’ve already done this, great! Ask God to give you an opportunity to engage in conversation with them. And when you do so, consider inviting them to share a meal or drinks with you so you can get to know them more.