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Love Our Neighbors

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?"  Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, 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."  

The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.' And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

“The Lord our God is Lord alone!”  How many of us have other Lords to which we give allegiance?  TV and movie celebrities?  Sports figures?  Radio hosts spewing hatred and fear?  Our president loving not his neighbors but only himself?   How close are we to the kingdom of God through our acts of compassion, understanding, and love?

We vote on Tuesday.  Will we love our neighbors as ourselves?  This is a question we all will have to ask ourselves and then answer.

Deacon David Pierce

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