“Have we lost what it means to be a neighbor? I think it’s yes and no. I’m not really an ‘either/or’ type of person. I have found, over and over again, that the answers in life end up being ‘both/and.’
“People are both terrible and wonderful, they really are. I’m tired of hearing it’s one or the other. It’s just not. We’re all kind of awful and glorious, all at once. It’s deeply beautiful, really. I wish we would learn how to embrace the in-between truth of that more fully.
“In certain ways, we are very territorial and nervous about things that might be happening around us. We might not like change. It might be different than what we would prefer. But at the same time, there is a real, human desire to look out for one another and make sure people are okay.
“I’m doing this thing – the Jesus thing – so I always see life through that lens. So Jesus tells the famous story of the Samaritan and says, ‘Go and do likewise.’ I think what he really means is, ‘If I tell you a story about what neighborliness is, you will recognize it, won’t you? Even if it’s not where you want to see it, or how you want to receive it, you will recognize it.’
“We all know what neighborliness is supposed to look like. Sometimes we kind of hide ourselves from the truth of it, but deep down, people know what it looks like to care for one another.”
– Father Philip DeVaul, St. John The Divine Episcopal Church, Costa Mesa ♥
