The Reading is from the Holy Gospel according to St. Luke. (10:25-37)

“Who is my neighbor?” This is the question of the lawyer who stood up to put Jesus to the test. But my brothers and sisters, it is a fearful thing to try to test the Lord because you cannot test the tester of hearts and minds. This is what the lawyer encountered when he asked this question “who is my neighbor?” The Lord saw through the question to the motives behind that question. He found that those motives were not necessarily pure. It seems that the lawyer had blind spots in his life and in his understanding of what it means to walk in holiness and righteousness. The Lord out of His love for mankind, teaches the man so that he will not live in blindness but will have the light of truth.

The lawyer’s original question is a very good one. “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Wow! It is breathtaking in it’s simplicity and scope. And Our Lord Jesus Christ does not shame the man or reprimand the man for asking such a question. We would be good to ask such questions in our own hearts. If we started every day with this type of mindset, all would be right in our lives. Even if the whole world was falling apart around us, we would be in paradise because our focus would be on pleasing God and dwelling with Him. Some of the saints note that we begin to find God and dwell with Him in the moment that we search for Him prayerfully and with our whole heart.

So the answer to the question of the lawyer regarding how to be saved was “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” St. Ephraim the Syrian writes, “What is the greatest and first commandment of the law? He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God, and your neighbor as yourself.” … All this teaching is held high through the two commandments, as though by means of two wings, that is, through the love of God and of humanity.” Commentary on Tatian’s Diatessaron 16.23.

As I mentioned to the intro to Orthodoxy class last week, prayer is the ultimate fulfillment of this first commandment. We love God with our everything, with all of our focus and energy, in prayer. And in fact the pinnacle of prayer is the divine liturgy that we are participating in together at this very moment. How is this so? Because we complete our prayer by participating in the Holy Spirit and receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. It is a fulfillment of this commandment to love God and in fact it is turned on it’s head as God dwells with us and loves us. So when we understand the liturgy in this way, it takes on new power and meaning. We begin to think of ways that we can make every liturgy more precious and powerful in our lives. Some ideas that come to my mind are to come a little bit early and attend some of the matins (orthros) service. Coming in late to the liturgy isn’t a very good way to have a prayerful experience. If we would not be late to a doctors appointment or to the school or to the movies, we should likewise consider that the liturgy is an appointment with God.

Likewise, we have a rule regarding receiving communion. Of course only Orthodox Christians may receive communion as is the teaching from the earliest times of the Church. But being an Orthodox Christian is not the only requirement for coming to receive the holy gifts. The Church teaches us that we should be here in time to hear the reading of the Holy Gospel, and that this is the bare minimum prerequisite for receiving the divine gifts. If you haven’t made it a priority to arrive before the reading of the Holy Gospel, then we have to work on our priorities because these priorities are a sign of the bigger picture. If you happen to arrive later, after the gospel, then you can certainly pray with us, but you shouldn’t receive the gifts in an unworthy manner. St. Paul says that when some of the Christians at Corinth received the gifts unworthily they profaned the body and blood of Christ and some of them became sick and some even fell asleep. The gifts are a fearful and wonderful treasure and a two-edged sword. They are life and sanctification to those who partake humbly and faithfully, but condemnation to those who approach without preparation and without repentance. So take care to remember these things.

Now back to the question of the lawyer “And Who is my neighbor?” The Lord gives him a simple answer really. Your neighbor is every person you encounter. Most especially those whom you label as “other” or “different”. We just went through another election and thank God that the election cycle is over. We would do well not to participate in divisive rhetoric online. Not to listen to it or to join in. These things are destructive to the fabric of society. Sharing your every opinion online is for undisciplined children. But we are called to be children of the Most High. He expects us to be like angels in the world, working for peace. And let’s also be careful with our conversations even here in the church. They can also tear apart the body of Christ. No one is your enemy, everyone is your neighbor, everyone requires love. We were alienated from God for a time, yet He did not consider us His enemies. He came to us and dwelt with us and poured out His life for us to redeem us. We are called to help redeem one another and lift one another up to Christ so that He might heal them and us.

There is no other. Each person is our brother and sister. Each person is precious in God’s sight. Christ died for each person. I want to conclude with this quote from St. Jerome who writes, “Everyone is our neighbor, and we should not harm anyone. If, on the contrary, we understand our fellow human beings to be only our brother and relatives, is it then permissible to do evil to strangers? God forbid such a belief! We are neighbors, all people to all people, for we have one Father.” Homily on Psalm 14 (15).

May we live seeing every one as our family, that God may accept us as His children indeed!

Source: Sermons