Old Testament: Hosea 14:1–9
Gospel: Mark 12:28–34
Psalm 81:8–14
from Mark 12:28-34
The Gospel for today reminds us that the two most important of God’s commandments are 1. love Him and 2. Love our neighbor as ourselves. Loving God is relatively easy for most of us; however, loving our neighbor is more of a challenge. For one thing, how do we love our neighbor if we do not even know who our neighbor is? Furthermore, how do we show our neighbor our love?
Last fall my dear friend Angela Williamson introduced me to a podcast called “Reclaiming Jesus Now with Jim Wallis.” The 10 episodes follow along with Wallis’ book Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus.” The book and podcast were life-changing. Wallis tackles some very complicated issues and challenges us to look at them through the eyes of Jesus. Chapter 2 is entitled “The Neighbor Question” and Wallis reminds us of Luke 10:29: “But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’” So with that in mind, I ask: Who is our neighbor? Is it just the people we know or live and work near? Or is it, as I believe, everyone, even those people we have never met and never will.
Once we have identified our neighbor, how do we show our love? Is it enough to just pray for them? “Thoughts and prayers” seem insufficient and to be honest, when I hear people say that after some tragic event, I cringe on how cliché it sounds. However, when I think of the things I wish I could do I become paralyzed with all the possibilities. Wallis argues that, “The opposite of loving your neighbor is not always hating them, but just being indifferent to them” (Wallis, pg. 59). In 2015 Pope Francis spoke about the “globalization of indifference” where we get so “caught up in our own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard…and the desire to do good fades” (Wallis, p. 60). The indifference comes when we no longer can or will open our eyes to the lives of our neighbors.
My goal this lent, and always, is to be better at loving my neighbor as myself by reducing my indifference and showing more love. It is the most important thing God commands us to do after loving Him first.
Mallie Steele
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