Loving Our Neighbors like God

Psalm 146: 1-10, Mark 12:28-34

The psalmist in Psalm 146 gives praises to the Lord for all the great things God has done and continues to do. In comparing this passage with Mark 12 where Christ talks about the greatest commandment it is not only to love God with your whole being but to exercise that love to others – to your neighbor. In the account in Luke 10 a scribe asks, “Who is my neighbor?” to which Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan.

Why does the psalmist praise the Lord? It’s because of the love God shows to God’s children. God is trustworthy – not like many the leaders of whom we are not to put our trust in. But our help and hope come out of God’s love for us. God is faithful and just. Here some of our neighbors are mentioned: the oppressed, the hungry, the prisoner, the blind, the immigrants, the orphan, and the widow. God takes care of them, loving the righteous.

In Mark 12 Jesus tells us the first greatest commandment is to love the one true God with all our hearts, soul, mind, and strength. The second is to love your neighbor as yourself. If you truly love God how can you not love God’s children? How can we ignore the poor and oppressed, those who are food-challenged, prisoners not only those incarcerated but those who are imprisoned by addictions and mental health conditions. How can we turn our backs to the blind and disabled. The one hot topic in our country right now is immigration. God loves the immigrant. Why can’t we? God reaches out in love to the widows and orphans who have no one to support them. We too need to reach out and care for the neglected widow and orphan, the other marginalized along with the others mentioned that God takes care of.

When the scribe replies to the Lord that Jesus is right he says it is more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices – all the rigmarole we sometimes go through in worship distracted and not meaning what we recite. Is this how we just nod to God once a week not with our full heart soul, mind, and strength. Most of the scribes and Pharisees reveled in these rituals yet neglected to love their neighbors – the children of God as themselves.

May we love all our neighbors helping God take care of those so many times neglected. Let us reflect the love God shows the world. Amen.

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