SERMON BY FATHER JONATHAN E MOORE - LINK TO HIS BOOKS HERE
Feast of All Saints
Loving Our Neighbour - The heart of Christian discipleship.
Last week, I reflected a little upon the upward movement of our love towards God symbolised in the vertical beam of the cross. This week I invite you to pause with me and consider that outward movement of love for others, symbolised by the horizontal beam of the cross.
To love our neighbour is surely one of the clearest and most demanding invitations at the heart of the Christian life. Our Blessed Lord places this commandment right beside the love of God: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” Familiar words it’s true, yet their meaning reaches far beyond simple kindness or polite concern. They call us to recognise the dignity of every person, to allow compassion to shape our choices, and to become signs of God’s mercy in a world that can so easily become divided and indifferent.
Christian love of neighbour can never be reduced to a mere emotion. Our feelings and moods are changeable, and we cannot always feel affection for everyone we meet. Christian love must needs be a conscious choice, a deliberate decision to seek another person’s good. It involves treating each person as someone created in the image and likeness of God, refusing to reduce people to their mistakes, social standing, opinions, background, or usefulness to us. Every neighbour possesses a dignity that does not depend on achievement or approval. To love another person is to honour that dignity.
In St Luke’s Gospel we read the parable of the Good Samaritan. A man has been attacked and left for dead in a ditch. Some see him, but walk on by. A Samaritan, however, stops. He notices the wounded man, approaches him, tends his injuries, carries him to safety, and pays for his care. This story challenges us because the Samaritan does not ask whether the injured man belongs to his own community or shares his beliefs. He does not pause to consider whether or not helping will be in his own best interests. No, he responds to suffering with mercy.
The parable teaches that our neighbour is not simply the person who lives next door or belongs to our circle of friends. Our neighbour is the person whose need comes into our path. Sometimes that need is obvious: hunger, loneliness, illness, poverty, or grief. At other times, it is hidden behind a smile, a busy routine, or an outward appearance of strength. Loving our neighbour requires attentiveness. We must learn to see people rather than merely pass them by.
The Samaritan’s compassion is very practical not just sympathetic words; he gives time, effort, money, and personal attention. In the same way, our own Christian love must become concrete. It may involve visiting someone who is isolated, listening without interruption, holding out forgiveness, sharing what we have, defending someone who is treated unfairly, or making room for a person who feels forgotten. Small acts of love can possess great significance because they reveal that another person matters.
We cannot truly love through personal strength alone. Saint Paul tells us that the love of Christ is a “ compelling motive” (2 Corinthians 5:1) Scripture reminds us that God loved us first. In Christ, God comes close to humanity, enters into our woundedness, and offers mercy without denying the truth. The cross reveals a love that is self-giving rather than self-protective. Our risen Lord reveals that such love is stronger than sin, fear, and death.
When we understand that we are loved by God, we no longer need to prove our worth by having more “stuff”, winning every argument, or gaining the admiration of others. We can become freer to love generously. The person who knows they are held in God‘s loving embrace can offer patience rather than retaliation, generosity rather than suspicion, and forgiveness rather than resentment. This does not of course mean accepting injustice or ignoring healthy boundaries. Neither is Christian love expressed in passive approval of harmful behaviour. It seeks what is truly good, and sometimes the good of another requires honesty, correction, or firm protection of those who are vulnerable.
One of the most difficult expressions of love is forgiveness. To forgive does not mean pretending that harm did not occur. It does not remove the need for justice, accountability, or healing. Rather, forgiveness means refusing to let hatred become the deepest power in our lives. It is a gradual surrender of vengeance to God and a willingness to hope that the future need not be controlled by the wounds of the past.
Forgiveness often takes time. Some injuries are deep, and the heart may need patience before it can release its anger. Prayer can help us place our pain before God honestly. We may begin with a simple request: “Lord, help me desire forgiveness.” Even this small prayer can open a path toward freedom. In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we encounter God’s mercy and are reminded that we, too, depend upon grace. Having received forgiveness, we are invited to extend it.
Most opportunities to love our neighbour do not arrive as dramatic moments. They appear in ordinary places: at home, at work, in school, on public transport, in parish communities, and in conversations with strangers. Love may be expressed through a gentle response when we are tired, a willingness to apologise, or the discipline of listening to someone whose experience differs from our own.
Within families, love requires patience and perseverance. It means noticing the unspoken needs of those closest to us, who can sometimes receive less attention precisely because they are familiar. In our communities, love calls us to welcome newcomers and resist gossip. In society, it encourages us to care about those affected by poverty, discrimination, war, displacement, or neglect. The Church’s teaching on human dignity, solidarity, and the common good reminds us that love is both personal and social. We are responsible not only for individual acts of kindness but also for helping build communities where people can flourish.
To love our neighbour as ourselves is to allow the mercy of Christ to pass through our daily lives. We will not always succeed. We may become impatient, self-absorbed, or fearful. Yet failure need not lead to discouragement. Each day offers another opportunity to begin again. Through prayer, the Eucharist, Scripture, and the life of the Christian community, God gradually enlarges our hearts.
A useful prayer is to ask for the grace to see one person today as God sees them. That person may be someone we already love, someone who needs our attention, or someone we find difficult to understand. We can ask for the courage to approach with humility, the wisdom to respond appropriately, and the generosity to give without seeking recognition.
In the end, love of neighbour is not an optional ornament of Christian faith. It is evidence that God’s love is taking root within us. When we care for the overlooked, forgive those who have hurt us, welcome the stranger, and serve without applause, we make the Gospel visible. Our lives become a quiet proclamation that no person is worthless, no wound is beyond God’s compassion, and no act of genuine love is ever wasted.
Yes, the command to love our neighbour is demanding, but it is also a gift. It draws us out of isolation and into communion. It teaches us to recognise Christ in one another and to become instruments of peace. May God give us open eyes, generous hearts, and faithful hands, so that wherever we encounter another person, we may respond with the love we have first received.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We like to hear from you. Please comment here. Anonymous comments accepted. Please be kind.