We saw the movie, Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, last night. It made me think of the program that was on TV and that my children watched when they were little. The soft-spoken star of the show was very gentle and appealing to his young audience.
The actor who portrayed Mr. Rogers had to learn to mimic the slow, deliberate speech that was the hallmark of Roger's personality. In his trade-mark song, Fred Rogers emphasized the phrase, "Won't you be my neighbor?"
I got to thinking about what the Bible says about neighbors. The parable of the Good Samaritan was an illustration to a lawyer who asked how he would inherit eternal life, Luke 10:25. Jesus asked him what was written in the law about it.
The lawyer answered by saying, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind,; and thy neighbor as thyself." Then he asked Jesus "Who is my neighbor?"
This led to the story of the Good Samaritan, which is about a traveler who was attacked, robbed, and left half dead. A priest saw him, but passed by, then a Levite noticed the wounded man, and passed by on the other side. Finally, a Samaritan had mercy on the victim, took care of him and took him to an inn to recover.
Then Jesus asked, "Which of the three was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?" The man answered correctly, to which Jesus said, "Go and do likewise."
Fred Rogers learned to be compassionate at an early age. He was teased by other kids because he was chubby. His tormentors called him, Fat Freddy, and he never forgot the rejection, only determining to be kind to all.
Rogers was a talented musician, as was his wife, Joanne. They met in college, and had been married for 50 years. No doubt they were very good neighbors!
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