We find purpose when we transform the world by loving like Jesus, who loved the most unlikely neighbors. Read John 4:27. As a Jewish Rabbi, there were customs that needed to be followed. Don’t talk to divorced women. Don’t go into the home of a Roman. Don’t eat with tax collectors. Don’t associate with sinful people. Don’t make friends with Samaritans. Follow the Law of Moses and teach disciples the rules and customs about how to be a proper Jew. Jesus wasn’t just any Rabbi, following the traditional teaching of past Rabbis. Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. Jesus broke so many social norms that he was deemed a threat to accepted Jewish teaching. Levi, the tax collector, invited all his tax collector friends so they could meet Jesus. A Roman soldier had a conversation with Jesus on a street in Capernaum, and Jesus offered to come to his home. One time, while Jesus was at the home of a Pharisee, eating with other Pharisees, teachers, and rabbis, a sinful woman came into the room and washed Jesus’ feet. Mary, Martha’s sister, sat at the feet of Jesus like she was one of the disciples. In John 4, Jesus speaks to a Samaritan divorced woman, breaking three social norms with one conversation. When Jesus illustrated how to love one’s neighbor, he told a story where a Samaritan was the unlikely hero because he showed compassion on a “neighbor” who had been beaten and robbed. But Jesus didn’t just tell stories, Jesus modeled what it means to show love to the unlikely neighbor. When we wrestle with God’s will, we don’t have to make it harder than it is. We are to love God and love our neighbor, especially the unlikely neighbor. What are today’s social norms that are keeping us from interacting with certain people or groups of people? Let’s be like Jesus and tear down the differences that separate us and, instead, reach through social norms to embrace all our neighbors.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we profess our love to you. Help us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Give us a willing spirit to receive even the most unlikely neighbors that you send our way. Transform us so that we love all our neighbors like you love us all.