Based on material found on page 387 of The Virgin Eye by Robin Daniels.
What if what we thought we knew about “loving our neighbour” was incomplete?
I tend to picture my neighbour as the person next door, the familiar face at church, or the people I bump into while on walks around the neighbourhood. But here’s a thought: While “love your neighbour” appears just once in the Old Testament, “love the stranger” appears 37 times. I wonder whether Jesus had a different understanding from ours when he spoke the famous words below.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?”
(Matthew 5:43-47 NRSV)
“God calls us to love the less lovable into lovableness as an expression of our love of him.” Daniels[^1]
From Neighbour to Stranger
When we think about how Jesus interacted with people, perhaps “love your neighbour” is not about loving someone you know so much as about loving the stranger. This perspective becomes more compelling when we consider the biblical emphasis already mentioned above.
For example:
“The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”
(Leviticus 19:34 NRSV)
I wonder if Jesus, when using the word neighbour, was really referring not to those we know already, but to the greater swathe of humankind. That seems to be the emphasis of his parable about the Samaritan in Luke 10.25-37. After all, we are all part of the great brotherhood and sisterhood of men and women. God loves everyone, so in one sense we are all neighbours. What’s that old proverb?
“There’s no such thing as a stranger, only a friend you haven’t yet met.” Daniels
We really are one family. And yet, we really are very different. How are these differences meaningful? They are meant to draw us into aspects of God that we have not noticed in ourselves or those like us. The ‘different’ people reveal different and important features of God to us.
Growth Through Discomfort
When we feel awkward, out of place, or uncomfortable around people, it can be helpful to consider that although this may be the least comfortable place to be, it may be the most necessary. Perhaps we can then get closer to the reason God created us—because we discern him in other people and grow as a result. Volunteering with the charity New Hope by befriending addicts, as I did a few years ago, put me in conditions where I felt the most awkward in my entire life. It was painful and embarrassing, but it was beautiful and worshipful. I grew.
“Much of our discontent (or perplexity) in life comes from our resentment that reality – especially the stubbornness of some people and some circumstances—does not and may never fit with our notion or image of how we think it should be.” Daniels
If the neighbours we spend time with do not make us uncomfortable, perhaps we are not noticing the neighbours God wants us to see. How on earth did Jesus connect with any of us, let alone those who worked for the Romans, accused him of heresy, and made him tired, hungry and dirty? He was human; therefore, he struggled with these feelings but overcame resistance through his trust in his Father and dependence on him.
Reflection Questions
- How might your understanding of “neighbour” change if you considered the biblical emphasis on loving strangers rather than those closest to you?
- Think of a recent time when you felt uncomfortable around someone different from you. What aspects of God’s character might that person have revealed that you hadn’t noticed in yourself or your usual community?
- What would it look like practically to “love the less lovable into lovableness” in your daily interactions?
I’d love to know your thoughts. Please send them to me.
Your brother, Malcolm
[^1]: His statement reminds of the wonderful first four lines of the hymn “My song is love unknown“:
My song is love unknown
My Saviour’s love to me
Love to the loveless shown
That they might lovely be.
