I grew up with some interesting neighbors. Nearby, was a Mom who could look at a screaming child’s injury and declare, “Ah there’s no blood, you’ll live.” Or another neighbor who constantly complained when our football would sail over her fence and land in her backyard. Well, one day she apparently had enough . . . as our football went over her fence once again, she dashes out of her house with a knife and punctures the football until it’s flat. We all stood there watching with eyes wide open, looking at our only football, “I guess we’re done for the season.”
Today, I am blessed living on the new property where the new church will be built. We plan to have our opening FIRE (Families in Religious Education) kick-off night on the property, so that all of you can see it. My interesting neighbors out there are . . . deer, some loons, swans, cranes, coyotes and a beaver (who is not a nice neighbor).
I believe all neighbors can be interesting. The advice I give to you is . . . be curious before you are judgmental. If they do something that troubles you, go get to know them FIRST. Be curious. Ask questions. Jesus tells us to love them AS ourselves. He doesn’t say, “Love them as much as we love ourselves.” No. Love them AS ourselves. Get to know them. Be curious before you are judgmental. Think of how you would handle whatever situation or conflicts they are facing.
Hence, the famous Good Samaritan story. Now remember to the Jewish audience, a Samaritan is about as low and awful person as one could think of. Samaritan is a “buzz word” to represent whoever we feel is despicable and awful. For you it might be the sex trafficker, the drug dealer, the abortion doctor, the person of that race or religion or sexual identity. Think of who you would despise, then Jesus says to put the word “good” to describe them . . . and he makes your person the hero of the story.
To our brains that doesn’t make any sense. Jesus is trying to appeal to our hearts. That is, start acting with your hearts and not from preconceived notions of what that person is like or why they are as they are.
And I believe that all of us here, wouldn’t intentionally do bad things to someone we don’t like . . . that is, to our “personal Samaritans.” If that is not the case, and you are so angry at someone and want to harm them, come talk to me.
So let’s assume that none of you are going to physically threaten or harm someone, I want to address another kind of distain or hatred . . . and that is the aura or energy that we radiate. We all have some kind of aura field around us. I call it our “grace field” [demonstrate as I outline a large circle around me]. With pictures of Saints, they are often depicted with a halo or circle around their heads. Like the stain glass of Moses in the window by the piano, or the one of Mary in the Cry Room. The stain glass by the votive candles is of the resurrected Jesus, so of course he also has it.
Anyway, we all have an aura or “grace field.” Try this: rub your hands together a few times then slowly bring them barely apart and together again. Feel it? That’s part of your energy.
And you can radiate a positive energy or a negative energy. For example, I believe that if Pope Francis would sneak up behind me right now [An altar server carries a poster of Pope Francis and begins to silently walk up behind me] I believe that I could feel his positive energy. That I would feel his presence.
We all radiate something. Dogs sense it. Babies and toddlers often sense it. BUT we can radiate a negative energy, even if we don’t say anything bad or do something bad against this person (or those people). We usually radiate grace or goodness and God’s intention for us is to radiate love and acceptance. But sometimes we don’t.
It’s like the story of the man who was pulled over for speeding and as the Police Officer was writing out a ticket he was swarmed by flies. The Officer starting swapping at them and saying, ‘What the heck?” The man said, “Oh those are some circle flies. They circle around the back end of a horse.” “What? Are you calling me the back end of a horse?” “No sir, I am not. But you just can’t fool those circle flies.”
What I am suggesting, is that even if you don’t verbally say something to a person that you don’t like, or even if you don’t physically do something against a person that you despise . . . your aura, or your radiance might be saying something different . . . ?
Jesus says, “Love them AS yourself.” That is, as an extension OF yourself. It starts be being honest with what you REALLY feel. Trying to understand HOW or WHY you feel as you do. Maybe it’s really not about them, but about you . . . and how somehow they have become your scapegoat to project what you really don’t like about yourself!
If the world is going to change, it starts with YOU. Not somebody else. Are you loving all your neighbors as yourself?