Friends. Let me tell you about what I did today. Today, I purged my negative emotions. Fear, anger, hate, greed, jealousy..these vanished before my eyes. I let them all go. And when they were gone, there was one thing left: love.
Yes, love. But not just any love. Pure love. Unconditional love. True love. I found that I love life. I really love life, you know?
I love the sun in the morning, casting its golden rays over the gloom of dawn.
I love the smell of the flowers, reminding me that there is life in every breath.
I love the way the light filters through the windows, with the glowing dust circling lazily in the air.
I love everything. I love life. I love everyone, everyone in this room. Each and every one of you. I love your strength, your determination.
And we are all struggling, each and every one of us. We are struggling in our faith, in our sorrows. But we need not fear, for God has given us the strength and the love to press on.
Jesus said love thy neighbor. What did he mean with these words? Love thy neighbor? Surely not everyone here has a neighbor who makes the best guest at the party.
Jesus said to love unconditionally, as God has loved. This is the ultimate love. With this love, we love our neighbor. We love his strengths. We love his faults. We love his tribulations. We love the fact that he is struggling, as are we all. When we share our love and our life, we grow closer not only to our neighbor, but to God, for we love as God has loved us.
So fear not your neighbor. Give him a call. Have a chat. Invite him to dinner. For if you don't have neighbors, then what do you have?