Love Your Neighbor, Not Tolerate - August 1
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 75, 76; PM Psalm 23, 27; Judges 5:19-31; Acts 2:22-36; Matt. 28:11-20
Yesterday, one of the most monumental and beloved pastors in my hometown died from injuries after being hit by a car on his bicycle. I didn’t know Steve well, but we both officiated my sister and brother-in-law’s wedding together. He was the Senior Pastor of the largest PCUSA church in Memphis and was known as an advocate and warrior for justice and love. The rabbi of the largest synagogue in the south wrote, “By emphasizing deed over creed and an expansive Christian faith that encompassed all of God’s children, Steve was a mirror of my own Jewish teaching of ‘tikun olam,' healing the brokenness and seeing God in every human being. We were brothers and kindred spirits.”
I write about Steve this morning because in the very best way, he taught an entire city about the power of Christian love and how faith communities could be places of hope and healing and resurrection. He wrote two opinion pieces in local newspapers that have challenged me. I remember initially finding humor when a woman was seen sweeping the steps of Idlewild naked. Many people were joking and writing silly things online including one of the local papers. The paper joked about what she was doing with a bag of dog food. Steve penned an Op-ed about her and her fight with mental illness and his fierce struggle to love her and the challenge for all of us to see her with dignity. I can still remember his response word for word: “alcoholism, mental illness, and homelessness. And her name is Marilyn.”
A few years later, after he retired, he wrote a bold and beautiful piece about what he learned in ministry where he pointed out that Jesus never said, tolerate your neighbor. Jesus said Love your neighbor. Tolerate your enemy? Nope. Love. “It makes all the difference in the world.” This fits our Gospel today, where we hear the Great Commission in Matthew’s Gospel. We are the recipients of this commission: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Do you know what Jesus commanded? It actually was very little, and it all requires love. There are no commandments from Jesus’ mouth about who should be leaders of the church, or who can be married, or how we set up governments to care for her citizens. Nope. Feed the hungry, visit the imprisoned, clothe the naked, love your enemy, welcome children, and love your neighbor. Maybe many of us have just been working on tolerating our enemies and our neighbors. I guess that is better than nothing, but it is not what Jesus commanded. Jesus pushes us to grow for the rest of our earthly lives in how we understand this commandment. Today, I am wondering how can we all go a little bit farther?
- John+
Questions for Self-Reflection
What is the difference between tolerance and love for you? What are some practical ways of loving our enemy?
Daily Challenge
Read the link from the reflection piece. Spend time reflecting one of the 12 things Steve learned in 39 years of ministry.