Love Your Neighbour

As part of Lent we’re inviting you to enter into practices centred around “The Jesus Creed”:

‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:29-31)

In this season we are reminded that God’s love transforms us into people who are beloved to love. Each week we emphasize a different part of the Jesus Creed. This week: love your neighbour.

It’s important to note what Jesus is doing here when he offers this Jesus Creed. He combines the central prayer of Judaism (the Shema, in Deuteronomy 6:4-9) which is about loving God––with Leviticus 19:18 about loving your neighbour. Jesus forever intertwines love of God with love of neighbour. You cannot do one without the other.

And because we’ve spent the past few weeks practicing our love for God, it’s worth saying this now: You cannot properly love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength––without attending to those in need, your neighbours. All that time and energy you’ve given to loving God is meant to prepare you to love your neighbour. It can be seen as the natural outflow and even culmination of loving God.

And in case you’re wondering… who is my neighbour? Jesus has got you covered.

In a famous exchange with a teacher of the scriptures Jesus was asked: “Who is my neighbour?” Which prompted Jesus to deliver one of his most famous and challenging parables about a “Good Samaritan” (see Luke 10:25-37). Essentially through this interaction Jesus reveals to us at least two things:

1. Anyone we meet, especially if they are in need, can be our neighbour.
2. Therefore the real question is not “Who is my neighbour?” but “Will I be a neighbour?” or “How can I go and be neighbourly?”

Your neighbour could be someone in your household, or someone who lives on your block or floor, a coworker, another disciple of Jesus. It could be a stranger you cross paths with or even someone you dislike (an enemy). We all have neighbours whom God has intentionally placed in our lives and whom we are to love.

So church, will we join Jesus in loving our neighbours this week?

Invitation to practice:

• Go and show love towards a neighbour this week.
• Pray with God ahead of time to reveal who you are to love and how you are to love them. And then go do it.
• If you want some directions on how to love your neighbour, consider using the 5 Love Languages framework by Gary Chapman:
  • Words of Affirmation: Using words to affirm people.
  • Receiving Gifts: Giving a gift as a way to show love.
  • Quality Time: Give people your focused attention.
  • Physical Touch: Deeply appropriate touch is love.
  • Acts of Service: Let your actions speak louder than your words.

Michael Yang is the campus pastor of The Tapestry Nights
Photo Credit: @Nina Strehl