Discerning Love:
The Best Way to Help
A Sermon by the Rev. John L. Odhner
Lessons: Isaiah 58:1-8; Matthew 25:31-40; Secrets of Heaven 844:3
Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the
heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to
share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are
cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your
own flesh? (Isaiah 58:6-7)
Once a lawyer asked Jesus: “What can I do to have eternal life?”
Jesus answered with a question: “What does the law say?”
The lawyer replied: “Love the Lord with all your heart and love your
neighbor as yourself.”
Jesus said: “That is right. If you do that you will live forever.”
Then the lawyer asked: “So who is my neighbor?” (Paraphrased from
Luke 10:25-37)
The question that lawyer asked 2000 years ago is one that many people are
asking today. “Who is my neighbor? Who are the people that I am supposed
to love?”
In this country we are asking: “Are immigrants from Mexico, Syria or
India my neighbor whom I should love? What about immigrants who are
here without documentation? What about people who live halfway around the
world, who don’t have enough food to eat and who are suffering from diseases
and oppressive governments? Are they my neighbor? And if so, how am I
supposed to love them?”
“What about people who are poor or homeless nearby? What about the
person in the next apartment, who wakes the whole complex up with loud
parties late at night? What about my boss who underpays me and makes
unreasonable demands at work? What about my family member who borrows
money and won’t pay it back, and is probably using it for drugs?”
We may have a lot of questions about who our neighbors are and how we
are supposed to love them.
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