Earlier this year, we were leaving my son’s high school basketball game after a loss when someone ran into the back of my van. Of course, I was immediately mad, threw the car into park, stepped out in the dark, and slammed my driver’s side door behind me with quite a bit of force. I started to walk to the back of the van to confront the person who’d hit me when I heard a voice say, “It’s me.” I recognized the person who’d hit me as one of our fellow basketball parents and a friend of ours. Instantly, the anger left me. “Are you okay?” I asked, now worried about my friend. Thankfully, we were all fine. I told my friend, “I hate that this happened, but since it did, I’m glad it was you.” I trusted him and knew he would make sure my car was fixed.  

This semester, I took two back-to-back classes in which we studied the Biblical prophets. Some of the prophetic readings were tough and disturbing, but the themes that arose most prominently for me were that God wants us to care for the oppressed, needy, and poor. God wants us to seek social justice. God does not want us to worship wealth and power. Jesus also followed the prophetic tradition in his teachings about how to treat people and his actions toward others, especially those who were marginalized. At one point, Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment. “Jesus answered, ‘The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.’” (Mark 12:29-31).

Love God. Love your neighbor. Sounds easy. But I’ve been thinking about my reaction to the rear-end car incident. I was so angry and ready to give a piece of mind to the other person until I recognized that person was my friend. My reaction in that situation was not my best. I think I may engage in that type of behavior more than I care to admit. I don’t always recognize people as my neighbors right off the bat. When I encounter people whose beliefs diverge from mine or who live different lives than mine, I may see them as “other” instead of my neighbor. And I may keep them at arm’s length so that I don’t have to accept them as my neighbors. 

I think our human nature is to distance ourselves from anyone who differs from us. Fear and self-preservation may cause us to act defensively. When we don’t move beyond our initial assessment that another is different from us, we most likely will never consider them our neighbor. We won’t consider them part of our community. We won’t see them as God’s beloved children. And when we don’t see others as our neighbors, we may fail to help them in their times of need or when they are denied their rights leading to oppression. By denying them as our neighbors, we fail to do what God asks of us. 

My neighbors aren’t just those who are already my friends. I need to remember that everyone is my neighbor even though that may be difficult at times. God expects as much.