Who's My Neighbor?

We heard that in last week's Gospel reading. A scholar asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus said to love God with everything you have and to love your neighbor as yourself. Then Jesus tells the story of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). The scholar having heard the story asks, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "The one who treated him with mercy."

This seems to be especially meaningful this week. I've written about the Front Porch Fridays where the neighbors gather every Friday night in the summer. It has become evident that one of our neighbors was not who she proclaimed to be and is now serving time in jail. Shock resonated through our group and we spend an extra ordinate about of time decompressing on my front porch. How do we respond?

It has been so apparent about how much our actions effect those around us. We suffer because of the things others do. We are not little islands that have no impact on the world but every move makes a difference to someone or something else. It's the Interconnectedness of life. It's the Web in which we weave our lives.