Everything In Between: Stranger & Neighbor
Luke 10:25–37

We live in a world where neighbors can become strangers — not because we’ve moved farther apart, but because we’ve drawn clearer lines. Lines of ideology. Lines of comfort. Lines of difference.

In this first Sunday of Lent, we step into the sacred tension between stranger and neighbor through Jesus’ parable of the Good Samaritan. When a legal expert asks, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus doesn’t offer a definition — he tells a story. And in that story, the question shifts from Who qualifies for my love? to Will I choose to love?

Through a Wesleyan lens of sanctifying grace, we explore how God does some of God’s deepest work in the “in-between” spaces of our lives — in ordinary days, difficult conversations, and unexpected encounters. The Samaritan crosses the road. He crosses boundaries. He chooses mercy over distance.

What if being a neighbor isn’t about proximity, but about compassion?
What if the question isn’t “Who is my neighbor?” but “Will I cross the road?”
What if, instead of defining our neighbors, we began asking, “Won’t you be my neighbor?”

Lent invites us to grow in perfect love — love of God and love of neighbor. This week, we consider what it means to let grace stretch us beyond categories and into courageous mercy.

Go and do likewise.