Jesus was once asked, what is the greatest commandment? In his answer, he laid down the simple formula for living our lives. Simple perhaps in statement, but clearly not in practice. He taught that we must love the Lord with all our heart and also love our neighbor as ourselves. On this he said, “rests all the law and the prophets.” That is, everything that had been written and taught up to that time could be distilled down to those few words. So why is it so hard to practice that command? Why is it so easy to pick sides, hate the other side and, in so doing, claim that God is on our side? When confronted with the question, who is my neighbor, Jesus told a most provocative story to make his point. He set a scene where man (a Jew) had been attacked by thieves and left to die. He was ignored by a priest and another churchman, but eventually was saved by a Samaritan. In making his point, Jesus picked two groups, Jews and Samaritans, noted for hating each other. This is consistent with his teaching to love our enemies.

In today’s fractious world, we are quick to identify with one group and disparage those that we think oppose us. Jesus admonition, therefore, is more important than ever. Jesus knew that peace and harmony cannot be imposed on us. It must begin in our own hearts. Until we can treat our so-called enemies with respect and with the full admission that they are children of God, there is no chance of peace. Blame and fighting and disdain will simply escalate. As we witness almost daily, movements and causes can be most easily generated by anger and hate and when these passions are put on social media, they can explode. 

Christians have no excuse for falling into this trap. For in doing so, we ignore the core teaching of the man after whom our faith is named.

I find myself struggling to overcome this temptation to judge and condemn every time I see a disturbing piece in the news or some inflammatory statement online. It is then that I ask myself, can I claim to be a Christian if I don’t love the hater. It is truly the practice of a lifetime.

— Reflections appears regularly on the religion page. The column features a variety of local writers, coordinated through the Monroe Area Clergy Group. Charles Wellington is a lifelong student of the teachings of Christ Jesus and regularly meditates with the Great Plains Zen Center in Monroe.