Scripture: Leviticus 19:18
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Thought for the Day: So often we look at the teachings of Jesus and assume they were original to Jesus, but that’s not always the case. Much of what Jesus shared was rooted in the history of Judaism, though he often reinterpreted or stretched or simply called the faithful back to the original intent of the teaching. Here in Leviticus, these words could be heard in many different ways, and they were. Throughout history, even Christian history, people have attempted to give caveats and limitations in regard to who would be included in the definition of neighbor. Of course, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan that utterly crushed any attempt at limiting who might be our neighbor. We wish Jesus would have said, “…you shall love your neighbor as yourself, except in the following situations…” and then given us a lengthy, but generic list, so that we could easily include whoever might be on our list of unlikables. But it ain’t that easy…Jesus never made it easy.
Prayer: Teach me again today to love my neighbor as I love myself, Lord. And even on those days when I’m not real fond of myself, let me love others as Jesus taught me to do so. Amen.
Be In Worship Today
as we fill in the blank with:
“To Like Oneself”
