Lucy and Ricky had Fred & Ethel, Archie Bunker had the Jefferson’s and Tim “the tool man” Taylor had the eccentric Wilson. Neighbors!! Everybody has them. Mr. Rogers had a whole neighborhood full of them! Knowing our neighbors is important and loving our neighbors; ah, that may be a whole other story.
Let me tell you about a special neighborhood, filled with special neighbors in the town of West Jordan, Utah. An entire neighborhood came together to celebrate a little boy’s birthday with a party and parade and cake and ice cream and balloons; yet it was not the little boy’s birthday. Then a few days later, the entire neighborhood came together to celebrate Halloween for this same little boy with a block party and costumes and trick or treating; yet it was not Halloween. Then just yesterday the entire neighborhood came together to celebrate Christmas Eve for the little boy; they decorated every house in the neighborhood with lights and gathered together awaiting the arrival of Santa! And today they celebrated Christmas Day with the little boy, complete with toys and gifts and a feast. We all know it is not Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
These neighbors were responding to the life story of 4 year old Ethan van Leuven, diagnosed 2 years ago with a rare form of cancer. Recently Ethan’s mom & dad were given very sad news; he only had about 2 weeks to live. As the neighbors found out, everyone came together to make sure little Ethan would get to celebrate every holiday possible, one last time. Tomorrow it will be New Year’s Eve! What neighbors! What love! What a gift! And the greatest present they all are giving to Ethan is their presence, presence filled with love.
As people of faith, Jesus tells each of us to love God with our whole everything and oh, by the way, love your neighbor as yourself!
In this 22nd chapter of Matthew, we find the Pharisees still trying to trap Jesus with his own words. Last week he silenced the Sadducees with his answer about the coin and paying taxes, this week he silences the Pharisees with this incredible answer. You see the Pharisees were not just asking Jesus to pick a favorite commandment from the 10 Commandments, they wanted him to recall from the 613 ritual laws and commandments found in the Torah, which command was the greatest. Jesus simply says: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. This is the greatest commandment. The second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Jesus took the whole law and the prophets, everything the Pharisees would know well, and teaches that love of God, while first, can hardly be separated from love of neighbor. Love of God is evidenced by how we love our neighbor. Now we may indeed love our next door neighbor, and we all would probably rush to the aid of a neighbor like little Ethan van Leuven. But who is our neighbor? What does Scripture say and the Church teach when we ask: who is my neighbor?
We glimpse a hint in our 1st reading today, from Exodus: widows, orphans, aliens, the poor. Yes, our neighbor in Jesus’ neighborhood is often the marginalized, the discriminated, the oppressed, the beaten down, the misunderstood, the seemingly unlovable, the outcast, those who the world deems the worst of the worst. And if we profess to love God, Jesus tells us, just like loving God, love them too. How can we love them? Like those neighbors in West Jordan, Utah, love them with our whole being; with our everything! Be the present of presence. For these neighbors we must be a solid example of our Christian witness. Pray for them; do acts of kindness for them. I am still the beneficiary of neighbors, dear friends, who cut my grass and take care of my yard, as they recognize my need of time spent in various ministries. For me, my dearest neighbors are those men in Rayburn Prison, those men that the world would rather throw away or simply forget about. And to me, they love me as their neighbor.
In the week ahead, can we spend some quiet time and truly examine: how do I demonstrate my love for God, a love that must be with my whole heart, my whole mind, and my whole soul. Would others know I love God by the way I love my neighbor? Examine in that same quiet time: do I love those who don’t look like me, act like me, or even worship like me? Do I love my neighbor next door, and do I love my neighbor half-way around the country and even half-way around the world? And remember, that love of neighbor Jesus speaks of includes our own loved ones and family, even those who have let us down or may be estranged. If this be the case, these great commandments compel us to reconcile. Do we need to reconcile with someone? Re-read this Gospel, in the week ahead, for the faith and courage needed to take the first step toward that reconciliation!
The Ricardo’s and the Mertz’s; the Bunker’s and the Jefferson’s; the Taylors and Wilson! Yep, neighbors. Who is our neighbor? What does my neighborhood look like? I hope it looks like that of Ethan van Leuven. And as Mr. Rogers might ask: would you be mine, could you be mine, won’t you be my neighbor; and as Jesus might ask: won’t you love my neighbors!
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