Christmas (Sarah Brandt)

In this world,
hate never yet dispelled hate.
Only love dispels hate.
This is the law,
ancient and inexhaustible.
                        - Buddha

“Love your neighbor as yourself.” This is a familiar and commonly heard Bible verse. When I was in elementary school, a boy in my class teased me about my last name: Pugh. It is pronounced “Pew” and rhymes with few. Each and every day on the playground, he would taunt me: “Sarah Stinky. Here she comes! Get ready for a bad smell. Peeee-uuuu! What stinks?! Oh, it’s Sarah!” When I told my mom about the unrelenting teasing, she quoted this verse: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Why was she telling me this?! I was frustrated. I didn’t want to solve riddles. I just wanted the mean boy to stop. My mother also added: “I wonder what is going on in that boy’s life? I wonder if someone is being cruel to him at home. I bet that’s why he is lashing out.”

What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? Perhaps it starts with considering what is going on in their life. What would it be like to be them? I can’t actually walk in their shoes but I can listen and learn. Love is the primary expression of being a Christian. We are taught to understand love as a verb instead of as a noun. This type of love requires action. This love requires sacrifice. To love in this way is a deliberate choice.

Our country is polarized. Us versus Them. We have become strongly divided into parties, races, tribes, classes, castes, factions, religions. Judgments and criticisms proliferate. These judgments keep us separate and apart. However, we are all part of one country, one world. We are One. Do we truly know and understand each other? On the news, I repeatedly see hate attempting to dispel hate. Yet, only love dispels hate. I pray to listen, to learn and to love my neighbor.