Pairs and neighbors
I started writing a post last week on being sent in pairs, whether with a family member or friend. The Gospel message I had been thinking on was from Luke 10:1-12, 17-20, where Jesus sent his apostles out in pairs, to every town and place he was to visit. But I couldn’t pull the post together, and time passed. I dumped what I had written and hoped for a new start. Today is the day for that new start.
At Mass this weekend, we heard the story of the man who asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answered him with a question. “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” The man answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus confirmed his answer. Yet the man continued, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered with the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), where a man was beaten and robbed and left for dead. A priest and a Levite pass him by, but a Samaritan was merciful and cared for him. Jesus asks the man, of the three, who was the neighbor to the victim. The man states it was the one who treated him with mercy. Jesus tells him to go and do likewise.
I talk on the phone with my little brother Eddie every day. He lives in Arkansas right now, in my deceased brother’s house, until it can be ready to be sold. See, we lost our brother Joe in October 2024. He was our brother, but also Eddie’s best friend. Joe was between Eddie and me in age. Eddie had two serious accidents that year; he broke his ankle badly in March and his hip in November, right after Joe’s memorial service, Thanksgiving weekend. Needless to say, he needed help. He had just a few local friends from church; otherwise, it was family at a distance who provided what they could via delivery or short visits. I have to say Eddie hasn’t always been the easiest to be around. Sometimes he would drive my parents and us siblings nuts, but we all loved him just the same. He’s had a long rough time. I remember when my dad was dying many years ago, I promised him I would take care of my mom and Eddie, knowing they were the two family members who would need the most help, and he was worried about them. I felt him let go of this world shortly after hearing my promise. His worries were put to rest. Eddie was/is my neighbor. He’s my sibling. What he costs me in this life can’t be measured for the promise of what will come in the next. So we walk together, sharing memories, encouraging each other in physical and emotional highs and lows.
I met with my Spiritual Director this week, and she reminded me about gratitude. I have had five-yes, five days of great gratitude for my run of five healthy days with no pain! I have been praising God for these days of no naps, greater clarity, and less fog brain. My pulmonary team changed up my medicines and gave me a couple of new ones to fall back on should things continue the way they were. I had some outings with friends during these days and laughed, shared conversation, and food. Yes, I ate without being sick! I felt like life burst open, and I was so grateful. My director reminded me of a great resource book we both had, and I began to read from it again every night, after I counted my blessings. She was my neighbor, caring for me, reminding me how gratitude is so very important. She loved me as herself.
I met with my Hematologist on Friday, and he told me about another patient who might have to have a double lung transplant. He wanted to know how things went and if I was open to speaking with her. I talked about my journey said I would be glad to speak with her. He then asked me what I wanted to do next. I told him I just wanted to be well for more than a few days, as I needed to travel to Illinois to visit my family, and that I had a new grandson already four months old. He laughed and showed me a picture of two young kids and said they were coming to visit next week from Pennsylvania. He couldn’t wait. We compared ages of our grand kids and walked out of the office with smiles on our faces. I went home and was grateful to have such a doctor that not only cared for my health, but wasn’t afraid to share his life with me, and cared enough about another that he would ask me to speak with her. We walked together, being sent to heal and be healed, and found the joy of each other.
Yesterday I had a knock on my door. It was my next-door neighbor asking me if he could park in my driveway overnight and during the morning, because he had workers coming and wanted to give them access to the house and driveway. I said that was fine and thought that was all. Then he said he had one more thing. He looked somewhat sad and told me that shortly after he woke up in the morning, he sat in the living room speaking to his wife. Then he heard a loud noise. He said he looked out the window towards my driveway, and saw a lone turkey banging his beak all along my car doors and quarter panels. He said he rushed over and tried to get the turkey to leave, but then it began to chase him. But he said he wasn’t going to have anything to do with that and stomped his feet and flung his arms, and the turkey turned and walked away. I hadn’t heard anything. We walked over to my car, and sure enough, there were scratches all down the side of it. We both expressed hope they were just surface scratches and could be buffed out. He ran back home and got me some buffing compound and a cloth and began to see if it would come off. He offered to help with everything, but I took the cloth and compound and said I'd work on it later. He not only was my neighbor in the truest sense of the word, but he jumped into action to help me not only stop the damage but also help remove it. He didn’t hesitate to jump in and help me.
My point is that we never really know what God is showing us in the simple day-to-day things that occur. We could brush them off easily, but when measured up to Scripture, we could also find a message. And that message is likely different for each of us. But it’s there if we look!
I hope I gave you some food for thought on a Scripture passage you might read today, and how the things in your life may coincide with it. You never know unless you pick up a Bible, open it and hear what Jesus has to say. Will you?