Love thy neighbor. (No exceptions.)

The other day, as I was walking my 200 steps from my house to Yoga Space, I passed by Mary Stevenson’s yard. I looked over at her beautiful garden, and saw a sign in her yard. I had seen it many times before, but saw it again for the first time. It read: “Love thy neighbor. (No exceptions.)”

It brought me back to my book, Yeshua’s Incredible Journey. As many of you know, I am trying to finish my final draft, have it professionally edited, and publish it this year.

The sign reminded me of a chapter in my book where Yeshua begins his ministry. Like many things that sound simple to say, their application is anything but simple. It’s quite easy to love your neighbor when she is someone that looks like you, thinks like you, speaks like you, and believes like you. It is entirely different when your neighbor is different. Yeshua came across these prejudices over two thousand years ago. Here, from my book, is an excerpt depicting this:

Capernaum was on the northern shore of the Sea of Chinnereth, and the villagers had all been told by Shimon and Andreas that a new rabbi was going to teach there. Some came out of curiosity, others simply because it was the Sabbath. Nobody was prepared for what they were about to hear.

Yeshua came to the front of the synagogue and began preaching to the crowd that had gathered to see him.

“Your Pharisees and scribes tell you many things. They tell you how far you can walk on the Sabbath before it is considered ‘work’. They tell you what you can say and what you cannot say. They tell you what you can do and what you cannot do. They even tell you what you can think! But I say to you all, think for yourselves! You need only follow two of the commandments handed down to us. First, from Devarim, you should love God. You should love God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your strength, and all your mind. Second, from the commandments of Moshe, you should love your neighbor as you love yourself.

“We know both of these commandments, but do we really know them? How do we love God? Has anyone here actually seen him?”  Yeshua held a dramatic pause. “No! We can’t see God, or hear God, or touch God, or taste God. So how do we love God? Does anyone here know the answer? By going to the synagogue every Sabbath? By reciting prayers? By following rituals? I say to you, no, no, no! We love God by loving what God has created! And what has God created? Everything! By showing love to everything and everyone that God has created, without exception, you show your love for God.

“So the second thing you must do is simply an example of the first: love your neighbor as you love yourself. And who is your neighbor? The person who sits next to you in the synagogue today? Yes! The person who lives in the house next to yours? Yes! The person who lives in the town next to yours? Yes! What about a Samaritan? Do you love a Samaritan? Yes! A Roman? Yes, my friends, even a Roman!

“And so the words are quite simple, but to follow them is hard. You must all learn to love those who hate you because God has created them; and because they are your neighbor. Let me repeat: you must all learn to love those who hate you.”

Everyone was looking around at each other. Love a Roman? Love a Samaritan? Was this man crazy? This wasn’t what they were brought up to believe, and yet, when he said it, it all kind of made sense. Moshe really did say to love your neighbor, it was one of the ten great commandments, but could he really have meant to include neighbors who didn’t like us? Who hated us? Still, it did make sense.

So there it is friends. Yeshua was right, and my neighbor Mary’s sign proves that this message has been received and remembered for more than two thousand years. Now more than ever we all need to start practicing it. Because the more polarized we become, the more our planet will suffer. We need one another. No exceptions!