Won't You Be My Neighbor?

My wife and I saw the Mr. Rogers movie a few weeks ago. I definitely remember watching one iteration of his show when I was a kid. The trolley and castle were most appealing to me. I don’t think I took in much of what he said. But then again, maybe I did. A few things from the movie stuck with me. 

The notion of silence and space that he created is sorely missed from TV today. My wife and I are both fairly quiet people. We wake up quietly and open and close doors quietly and keep the TV at the lowest volume possible. This has been tough with a young child because so many shows and toys are so loud and busy. One of my favorite things to do is take my son outside on our back porch. He is now interested in the deer and birds that come to visit. I am trying to teach him that there is great beauty in quiet stillness, and also, that other creatures are our neighbors. 

Mr. Rogers was an expert with children. Working with children was his gift. The way he interacted with children would now (I think) be deeply suspicious to many people. I had to admit that if his show came on today, my first thought would likely be, “This dude’s a creeper.” And yes, I know how awful that thought is. It troubles me that I think this way and that people who are drawn to children and gifted with them sometimes make me uneasy. But his way of seeing the child in everyone challenges me. I am really angry pretty much all the time right now. There are lots of people doing lots of things I loathe. I have even had hatred in my heart for some of these people. So how do I remember that they are someone’s child? This is another thing that I hope I teach well to my children. I don’t believe people are bad or good. People do bad and harmful things. Many times the same people do good and loving things. People are deeply complex, and treating each person with as much love and compassion as we can means that we treat them as though we understand they are someone’s child.

A guy in Luke’s gospel asks Jesus a question: “Who is my neighbor?” The way the man asks the question suggests that he is trying to get Jesus to let him off the hook from loving certain people. Jesus doesn’t fall for it. He tells a story that is now mostly known as “The Good Samaritan.” (Reading AJ Levine’s book on the parables pointed out to me how bad/racist that title is. Think of someone saying “The Good Mexican.” See what she means?). My reading of the story is that ultimately Jesus says, “Your neighbor is whoever you treat like a neighbor.” In other words, we decide for ourselves who our neighbors are and aren’t. Think of Mr. Rogers’ question. Rather than saying, “Who can I get away with not having as a neighbor?” he instead asks, “Won’t you be my neighbor?” And it seems as though he asked that of more or less everyone.