Who is my neighbor?

Recently Calvin & I watched a documentary on sustainable farming. We've all seen something like this before - eating fresh, organic, naturally produced (albeit more expensive) food, rather than the mass produced, chemically altered, processed food that contains more words that you can't pronounce than actual nutritional content. A "Stick it to the man!" type film. You get the picture? Well naturally, our expertise in 8 months of gardening on our apartment balcony + all 2 farmer's markets we've gone to in the last year + the 10 day cleanse that got us on a health kick = the Sodestrom's completely converted (at least in theory) to eating fresh food from local farms that encourages sustainable farming. (Good thing Berkeley prides itself on organic food & local fresh markets!) Check in with us in 6 months & see how we're doing on our new commitment...see our New Years resolutions on consistent blogging & you can see our trajectory on these things.

The documentary is called Fresh, and it actually had some really great points on the farm industry, like how the land was designed to naturally thrive, how the industrialization of America has compromised quality & created a system that is unsustainable, and how we are to properly care for & steward creation. It's definitely worth a watch. Anyway, the point here is that we are painfully guilty of band-waggoning on ideas & then getting on a soap box about them. We keep joking we just watch documentaries to bring them up in casual conversation in a way that sounds slightly condescending to others, though our lives typically remain unchanged. With this joke is fresh in my mind, I had a convicting realization today on my lunch break -it's not just topics of creation care or green living that can get us on a soapbox unmatched by our actions - it's also the lifestyle that our Lord calls us to.

If you've had in depth conversations about the church with us anytime in the past few years, it's likely that you've heard us talk about making a shift toward "missional communities" rather than program driven churches. Basically this means followers of Jesus that take seriously the calling of loving their neighbor intentionally & consistently rather than just inviting people to some church program. But in a culture of fenced-in homes & closed garage doors, actually knowing your immediate neighbors is more difficult than you'd think. And it takes a lot of time and energy! If you're familiar with the Parable of the Good Samaritan, you'll know that Jesus expands the definition of our neighbor to not just those that live within a short proximity, but all we come in contact, friend & foe alike. We've tried to focus on those immediately surrounding us first. Admittedly, we have not done as well as we'd like in this area - but hey, we know our neighbors names, talk with the kids outside, bring fresh cookies over every once in awhile - it's a step right? We've dreamt about bringing the kingdom life to our neighborhoods through authentic community. Today I realized, though, that sometimes I believe that dreaming or caring about something is enough. But the true freedom & obedience comes not in well articulated visions or soap boxes, but in the daily, faithful work of doing something.

Here's where the Lord kicks my butt. I was sitting outside of Starbucks on my lunch break when I heard a woman trying to start her car, but it wouldn't turn over. I glanced up from my reading my Bible, thought "Hmm, that car is not going anywhere, I wonder if she needs some help" then went right back to reading. The woman's car was directly in my line of vision, so I watched the story unfold. I noticed that a few minutes later two women had popped up her hood to see if they could figure out what was going on. Still no start. Enter my excuses here - "I know nothing about cars...the only thing I can do is provide jumper cables...if those women don't know how to help her, I certainly can't help her...it doesn't sound like it's a battery issue..." On and on. The kicker - I was literally reading Luke 10 when Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. Seriously, Kenzie? Does it get more blatant than that?  Worse even, a few minutes later I look up and there is a man jumping her car, then she drove away. The one thing I could have actually helped with, and my car was parked only 2 spots away from her...

Don't you love those not-so-gentle reminders from the Lord? How easy it is to be caught up in a vision of loving our neighbors & then blatantly not pursue what is so obvious in front of us. In the parable, the Samaritan man pays at least 2 days earnings for this stranger's well being, putting him up in an inn, dressing his wounds, personally caring for & checking on him. True love & care of our neighbor often includes sacrifice of time, of money, of energy, of convenience. My sacrifice today would have been minimal -  walking 50 feet, ask the woman if I could help, and let my car run for a few minutes - but could have changed the woman's day. Instead I chose to get wrapped up in a nice idea rather than its' natural conclusion right in front of me.

I suppose this blog has no real up-lifting message or exhortation toward better living, but an honest confession that I imagine you all can relate to more than you'd like to admit. Moments like today's break away my sugar-coated view of myself and reveal the hypocrisy that so many others see in the church.  Hypocrisy isn't always acts of commission, sometimes it's in acts of omission or in the laziness of my heart. Today I'm reminded that all things, from eating conscientiously to being a good neighbor, are an invitation to live well, not just believe well.