Dear Blacknall family,
In answer to a question designed to trick him, Jesus replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
In this odd season of viral isolation, I hear the invitation to love my neighbor as myself, and I think, “Of course! I have generous feelings toward my neighbors. Well, except for that guy three doors down on the right who leaves his dog barking outside all day. And I do admit that if I could find out who owns (or is owned by) that cat that sits perched underneath my bird feeder all day… well… “
Loving in general is different, easier, than loving in the particulars. And because we have been more at home than usual, I have been unable to live in a “general” way! The particulars keep intruding. For those who are married, we know this well. Marriage is about learning how to love the person to whom I am married in very particular ways! We experience the same dynamic, although in a less challenging way, in close friendships.
How then to love my neighbor, as Jesus commanded? And not just those in fellowship with him as believers in Christ, but all my neighbors. Given his urgent imperative, I want to encourage you to take on this small project of reflecting on your life as a neighbor during this stay-at-home season. We are encouraging the church to read The Art of Neighboring, by Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon. (It is available for free if you are a Kindle fan.) Here is a pdf of the first two chapters.
The book is practical and focused on caring for those who live right around us. There is a study group that is beginning to read it together, starting tonight at 7:30 p.m. that you would be welcome to join (sign up here). It also includes ideas about engaging our neighbors in the midst of this coronavirus, called a “Covid-19 Neighboring Tool Kit.”
I know that in our neighborhood I am interacting with my neighbors in ways that are reflective of a new vulnerability and perhaps even trust. This would be a great time to engage in some more intentional ways as we seek to follow our Lord’s command.
Allan