Hosea 14: 2-10, Psalm 81: 6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17, Mark 12: 28-34
Love your neighbor as you love yourself. This is a simple yet complicated task. The simple part is in loving the neighbors I know. I suspect that in Jesus' eyes this would be considered a good start. As we all know from the gospel stories, Jesus likes to push the envelope, so to speak. When he said "neighbors" he meant all mankind, not just the neighbors we know and like. It's a pretty tall order. Needless to say, this is where I feel the task gets complicated. How can I love and respect someone I don't know or better yet, don't want to know? How do I love and respect someone whose beliefs and values are not even in the vicinity of being remotely similar to mine? I end up sticking to the simple part - loving the neighbors I know. Of course, I tend to forget that loving my neighbor as I love myself is the second greatest commandment that Jesus speaks of in this gospel story. The first is to love God with all my heart, mind and soul. When my words and actions show that I put God first in my life, I am able to stretch my definition of "neighbor" and show those I don't know, don't like, or those whose beliefs are not quite like mine the love and respect they deserve as children of God.
Sue Baackes, wife and mother of 2
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