Go Small and Go Home: How to Love Your Neighbor

If we are focusing on the world, who is focusing on our family? We’re often distracted by the big picture of the world, but our attention is most needed at home. Jeff points to Scripture verses from Luke, 1 Timothy, and Matthew to show how you can emulate the good Samaritan and love your neighbor.

Snippet from the Show

“If you are focusing on the world, who is focusing on your neighbor?”

SHOWNOTES

Quotes from St. Thérèse of Lisieux

“Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love. ”

“You know well enough that Our Lord does not look so much at the greatness of our actions, nor even at their difficulty, but at the love with which we do them.”

“When one loves, one does not calculate.”

Luke 10:25-37 – And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.”

But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion, and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.” And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

1 Timothy 3:12 – Let deacons be the husband of one wife, and let them manage their children and their households well.

Matthew 13:31-32 – Another parable he put before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

Steps to Go Small and Go Home

  1. Realize it’s OK to pay more attention to your local community than to the world at large.
  2. Don’t compare yourself to social media influencers and public personas.
  3. Get to know the people in your neighborhood and your parish. 
  4. Get involved in your parish and local community.

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