When asked by a scribe which is the greatest commandment, this was Jesus’ reply:

….The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  Mark 12: 29-31

This very similar statement is made in Matthew and Luke also. Even the Old Testament mentions this same sentiment: Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  Leviticus 19:18

An article in today’s paper about caring for the homeless mentions that nine times in the Gospel of John Jesus says Love one another as I have loved you.

Hmmm… this must be pretty important if it’s in the Bible repeatedly. It’s something I’ve known for most of my life, but as I have grown older, I’ve begun to realize these are not just nice sounding words but something I need to honestly practice in my daily life. Most of the time this has not been a problem for me. I try to look past what I perceive as other’s faults and love them anyway realizing that what I think about someone is not necessarily correct. It takes all kinds of us with different gifts and talents, all God given, to make up this world we live in. I try to practice acceptance and humility, understanding that we are all precious children of God whom he loves unconditionally.

Not a problem, at least not until recently. I have had a neighbor for the past two years in the rent house next door. At first there was nothing to be concerned about. We exchanged hellos and some small talk. She seemed nice enough, was married and had a cute little two year old son. I do my best to be friendly to the neighbors. Remember “love your neighbor”? But then things started to get a little off balance. When the pandemic started she got some chickens to make sure she always had eggs. That’s fine. A few chickens are no problem. Lots of people have a few chickens. But it grew from there. A couple of times she ordered large lots of chickens to resell (300 one time). That number of chickens on a suburban lot of approximately one-half acre is a lot and creates quite a racket and smell. Her largest chicken coop is right next to our fence. We are in the county, so city rules don’t apply. There was nothing to be done even if I wanted to.  Also, lots of stuff, that I would personally consider trash, was beginning to accumulate outside around the house leaving the area very unattractive and probably not too healthy. 

What is one to do? This “Love your neighbor” stuff was getting kind of hard. I still tried to be “neighborly”, but in my heart I was getting very upset and angry.  After some conversations with my husband and introspection on my part, made me realize that pride was part of my problem. Ahh, that old sneaky pride, the root of all evil. Didn’t I have a right to be upset?! After all, we worked hard to keep our house neat and the yard and gardens tended. Now I had a mess right next door. What to do? I prayed. I prayed to God to help me love her and not be so upset that my little corner of the world was getting messy and smelly. God loves her every bit as much as he loves me. I am no better than my neighbor, I am just more fortunate to have had more opportunities and blessings in my life. 

Then about a month ago things got even worse. She threw a huge, angry, screaming fit right outside her back door. She was furious with the husband. I personally had never heard anyone that angry. Curse words were flying everywhere! Oh my, now I was scared of my neighbor. That kind of fury is frightening! The next week, all was quiet. After not seeing her for a couple of weeks, I saw the husband and son leave. They did not come back. 

It started to become obvious that no one was there. That would have been ok, but now there is a yard full of squawking chickens that needed to be fed and watered. Oh no, now what do I do? About the time I was really becoming concerned, a lovely young woman who was a friend of the neighbor showed up to feed the chickens. I offered to help her. Love your neighbor, right? So now I am helping to take care of these crazy chickens (at this point there are about 30-40, including 8-10 loud roosters, plus 6 ducks for good measure). Seems as though my neighbor has a restraining order against her and cannot return to the house for several days or weeks?   What to do? It’s not the chickens fault there is no one to care for them, so for the past several weeks I have been face to face, up close and personal, with all the things that were making me so angry. My neighbor returned yesterday, so maybe my chicken tending days are done… maybe. 

Why have I told you to this rather long story? Because I wanted to share my struggle and how my faith has helped me. I have prayed, prayed, and prayed some more for God’s help.  To help me love, instead of being mad and upset, but it’s been hard. I have prayed for my neighbor and her family. I don’t want anything bad to happen to them. Does this mean I am at peace with everything? No it does not. I am doing better than I was, but I am a work in progress. This has all caused me to find out things about myself of which I’m not very proud. Things I need to work on, be aware they exist. How much do I really love my neighbor? Not just the one next door, but all of my neighbors? What kind of mistrust or hatred do I hold deep in my heart? God knows what is there, but sometimes I don’t. I need to keep praying that he will show me how to love the way he does without expecting anything in return. 

Why do things like this happen? Did God do this? I don’t think God does these things, but we humans in our frailties cause problems and God lets them happen. The big question is, how do we handle situations that cause us to lose patience, feel angry and mad? We could just let all those bad feelings go and get worse, find bitterness instead of love. Have you ever had a situation where you were really upset with someone, sometimes with good reason? We like to justify our anger, but that’s not what Jesus asks us to do. What did he do when he was faced with the ultimate betrayal by Judas? What did he do when the disciples abandoned him as he carried his cross? Did he scream and yell? Tell them to get lost, he was done with them? No, he did not. He said “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.” He wants us to do the same. Pray. Forgive. Love. 

Dear Lord, sometimes I don’t do so good loving the way you love. I am sorry for the times I have failed. I ask you to please fill my heart with your perfect love. Help me to be more patient, kind and caring to those around me. Help me to give your love freely to everyone I encounter. Amen.