Neighbors

This week's reflection was provided by the former Rev. Judith Schenck, and discusses the importance of the little word - all.  "We call it the Great Commandment or the Summary of the Law: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy soul and all thy mind and thy neighbor as thyself."  And that word has huge meaning.  I highly recommend reading the entirety of the sermon at the link provided. 

One of the points in the piece talks about, who is your neighbor. 

“Who is your neighbor?” asks Jesus. Our neighbor is anyone who stands beside us on this small planet, our island home. Distance is no obstacle to neighbors. A neighbor is any other human being with whom we share the image of God, which is to say, all human beings. A neighbor is not based on worth, on quality of life, on intelligence or beauty, on health or sickness, on moral development or religion, on color or sexuality or geography. We are all neighbors to one another.

Our wonderful interim priest, PattiAnn Bennett, proved just what a neighbor is, as she wrote to us recently:  "Upon returning from convention Sunday evening I learned that an elderly parishioner from St Michael had no place to live and was suffering from some kind of mental dysfunction. She has stayed here with us this week and after many phone calls to her family back east & Adult Protective Services involvement and doctor's appointments I will escort her [home on the East Coast] to meet her daughter on Saturday."

Setting aside her own responsibilities (and likely assisted in that by her family and friends, also helping their neighbor as needed), she helped another made in the image of God, and did as she would hope others would do when presented with such an opportunity. 

I appreciate the examples we are provided from the words of Rev. Schenck and the actions of Rev. Bennett.  May we all strive to live up to the definition of "all" the Commandments provide.