The Greatest of These is Love - More Seeds of Hope for Lent

Today’s story seed is The Greatest From the Gospel of Matthew chapter 5, verse 19 “…whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.” Even when we don’t know the names of people in our neighborhood, we often get a sense for people that we see as we drive by their houses, or as we walk our dogs down the sidewalk, or when we haul our trash out to the street. And this guy clearly stood out. He stood out because he didn’t look like he belonged in this neighborhood of computer programmers, medical professionals, and project managers. This elderly gentleman sat on his porch most days. His house was somewhat run down, needing painting, and his bushes were overgrown. On one fall day, he was out raking the leaves in his yard. He wanted his yard to look nice, because he liked it that way, and because he wanted it to look nice for the people who walked by. He said hello to anyone who looked his way and took time from his raking to chat with anyone who wanted to talk. One of the neighbors did want to chat. She explained that the couple from the house just down the street was splitting up, probably getting a divorce, and their house was being foreclosed. She had heard that all of their possessions were going to be auctioned off. She said, “I can’t wait to get that Tiffany lamp that they keep in their front hallway!” “I’m sorry to hear this,” said the man. “It’s no surprise,” she said. “They were terrible at managing money. They ate out every night and bought those fancy cars. I heard that he had a wandering eye. I guess his wife wasn’t good enough for him. I’ll tell you, though, I wouldn’t mind spending some quality time with that man. They don’t make ‘em any better looking than him.” Silently he said a prayer for the couple. He had noticed in recent months that they had seemed unhappy. He had talked with the woman recently, and it looked like she was about to cry while they talked. Now he knew why. When the raking was done, and he had cleaned up, the man pulled out some extra chicken from his freezer. He peeled six potatoes. He mixed a salad. When he was done cooking, he divided up the meal and put the largest portions in some disposable containers. Walking down the street he said hello to a young family. He pointed out the sound of the birds singing that evening on the telephone wires. He turned the corner and walked up the stairs to the house with the Tiffany lamp in the hallway, rang the doorbell, and waited. The woman opened the door, looked surprised, but said, “Hi, can I help you?” “No,” said the man, “but I had some extra dinner that I made tonight. I do that, occasionally. It reminds me how I used to cook for my wife and the kids, you know, before they grew and went out on their own, and before she got sick, and passed. God, I miss her. And so occasionally I cook like she is still here, but it’s more than I can eat. I was wondering if you and your husband might enjoy a home cooked meal tonight.” The woman nodded her head, yes, and reached out and took the bag with the food in it. Her eyes were misty as she thanked him, and closed the door. Before the man walked away, she heard the woman say, “That was the old guy who lives around the corner. He made us dinner tonight.” How are you doing this Lent? Are you following the commandments? Are you striving to be one of the greatest? Do you even know all 10 of the commandments, or can you name the Beatitudes? This isn’t something to fret about. Jesus made it simple for us. He said it is all about loving God, and just like loving God is loving your neighbor. Loving your neighbors doesn’t mean that you want what they have, or wish you had a spouse as good looking as them. It means that you care for them, that you show concern for them, that you treat them like you would want to be treated. All of us have difficulties, and it’s easy to spend our time worrying about ourselves and concerned only with our needs. While we do well to pay attention to our needs, we also do well to pay attention to the needs of our neighbors. God wants us to care for others. Go ahead and love God, love your neighbor; and you, too, will be counted among the greatest. Now let’s take 30 seconds to water the seed… Which commandment do I need to pay closest attention to on this day?