Matthew wrote in Chapter 22 that Jesus tells us to love our neighbors, the second greatest commandment, and related the story about the Good Samaritan — but why do so many Christians express hatred instead of love?
… the second of the great commandments is the toughest
When we talked last week about the nasty scribes and Pharisees and how they treated Jesus, we did not finish with those nefarious, hypocritical characters.
They continued to try and trick Jesus throughout his life, to no avail.
Matthew deals with this in Chapter 22, and that leads to the second greatest commandment and then to the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The two greatest commandments
The Pharisees attempted to pursue Jesus’ beliefs and trick him, but the move was not successful. In fact, it led to some of the greatest words in his ministry,
The Greatest Commandment
Chapter 22
34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together,
35 and one of them [a scholar of the law]* tested him by asking,
36 “Teacher,* which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
37 He said to him,* “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
38 This is the greatest and the first commandment.
39 The second is like it:* You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
40 The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
Book of Matthew
The truth is that loving God is the easier part of these two commandments. Loving your neighbor as yourself?
That is challenging.
Questions: What should we learn about loving our neighbors?
In order to determine what that means, we should take a look at the Good Samaritan,
What Does It Really Mean to Love Your Neighbor?
Thousands of years ago, Jesus was asked that same question. So He told a story about a weary traveler who was robbed, beaten and left alone alongside of the road (Luke 10:25-37).
An ordinary man saw him and kept walking. (He was probably busy.)
A very religious person ignored him, too. (There was probably no one around to notice his good deeds or spirituality.)
But the person who actually stopped and did something was someone a bit unexpected.
That person was the Good Samaritan. We all know the story — a kind person stops to help another person. But it means a bit more. In the story, the traveler and the Samaritan could not be more different. They came from different cities. They had very different views.
Some might even say that these two people would have hated one another. Yet despite their differences, the Samaritan chose to love his neighbor. Even though the neighbor wasn’t really his neighbor at all.
Our neighbor isn’t just the person next door. Our neighbor is the person God has placed right in front of us. And no matter how different, how inconvenient or how unexpected, we’re asked to love our neighbor as well.
Jen Wilson, “3 Lessons from Jesus on How to
Love Your Neighbor,” Compassion.com, 2020
In order to read the entire parable, we turn to the book of Luke,
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.
31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.
32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.
34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.
35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10:25-37
Our neighbors include everyone in the world
I have discovered in my own life that loving everyone is challenging. I am sad when I read Christians, even leaders, who spew forth hatred that is unworthy of anyone who follows Christ.
We have to love the Jewish people, the followers of Islam, the Buddhists, and every other religion. We have to love the atheists and agnostics and people who are very different from us. We had to love those who are a different race from ours, and we have to love those who have a different sexual orientation than ours.
Sometimes, people just cannot get along.
Let me relate a story from my early years as a teacher to illustrate how this can work.
In most classes, I was able to find common ground and relate well to most students. However, invariably, personality differences will make this very challenging. And personality differences abound in this world.
In my second year of teaching, I encountered a student with whom our personalities clashed. It was the first time as a full-time teacher that it occurred.
We did not hate one another, but we seemed to grate on each other. There was nothing confrontational, just a little bit of animus from time to time. We were both happy when that school year ended, and we parted feeling some animus toward one another despite my efforts to try and mend fences.
However, a year later, while not teaching this young man, something happened that brought us together in a way that left us both feeling good about our relationship.
The irony is that this occurred because of an accident on the ski slopes. I was one of the advisers of the ski club, and my job was to help students obtain their skis, put them on, get beginner lessons —and as the one designated to do this, take students to the hospital or doctor or home if they are injured.
That is how this young man and I encountered one another in a positive way. He had broken a bone in his shoulder, and I had to take him to the hospital where his parents would meet us.
I could tell that this accident had depressed him, so we engaged in a conversation. I tried to empathize with him and tell him about my disappointments of many injuries in high school. Overall, on the ride, we developed a sense of camaraderie and realized that the other person was not really a bad person.
This was not the case about hating another person like in the Good Samaritan.
What about loving someone whom you hate?
I like this way of approaching the idea of hatred. You have to learn to love, and identify what love is.
Instead, love is patient.
Love is kind.
It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered,
it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love is patient. Kind. Content. Humble. Selfless. Forgiving. Joyful. Protective. Trusting. Hopeful. Consistent. And it never fails.
It’s not something you think about. It’s not something you talk about. It’s something you do — with a heart that leads people to the greatest example of love this world has ever seen. Though it’s an old story, there are three simple lessons on how to love your neighbor we can learn from the Samaritan.
Whether they move in next door or cross your path for just a moment, stop and see the person in front of you. Look them in the eyes. Ask God to help you see them not for who they appear to be, but in Whose image they are created — no matter where they’re from, what they look like or what they believe.
Jen Wilson, “3 Lessons from Jesus on How to Love Your Neighbor,” Compassion.com, 2020
Difficult at times in the contemporary world
People are not going to like one another at all times. In fact, they may despise one another. God, however, as Jesus notes, wants us to love one another — even if we do not like them.
What about people in contemporary whom we find despicable? This can be contemporary politicians — and I have a long list of despicable people like this — or people in entertainment or in our daily lives. Sometimes, people despise their bosses, but they have to work for that person.
Jesus outlined the process: We have to pray for that person every day if necessary in order to remove that animus from our lives.
Sometimes, it is a family member. Same deal. Pray for him or her.
The reality is that hatred will destroy us, not the other person. So, if we allow it to knaw away at us, that is what will happen.
This is the most difficult commandment, in my estimation. We will always have failings, but when we fail to love another, that is worse than most sins since it is one of the two great commandments.
Try to practice this during the week. Good luck!
Comments
Post a Comment