By Phil Haslanger
Retired United Church of Christ minister

Jesus was very clear about the importance of loving our neighbors and about making sure we understand that our neighbors were not people just like us. In the abstract, that sounds pretty good. In the reality of my life, one of the challenges is getting to know the neighbors who are not just like me. 

It’s pretty easy for me to live in a bubble of sameness. In the condo where my wife and I live, the ages tilt older and the skin colors tilt white. In the congregation we belong to, the ages are more diverse but the complexion on Sunday morning looks like there were a lot of European ancestors. My close friends all speak English. I grew up in a virtually all-white town in northeastern Wisconsin and did not have a classmate of color until I reached college. 

And then there is religion. I’m part of what is called a “progressive Christian” congregation and denomination, but it turns out the Christian neighborhood is far more varied than that - to say nothing of the tapestry of other faith traditions that surround our world.

So unless I make a conscious effort, I never have a chance to get to know those neighbors that Jesus asks me to love. And if I don’t know them, can I ever really love them? 

Fortunately, in my work life I have gotten to know a wider range of neighbors. But I have also focused over the past years on making sure that I am moving in circles where the people are not just like me, to go to the festivals from a variety of cultures, to learn about the parts of our history as a nation that include Native Americans and African Americans and immigrants. I try to worship now and then in congregations that are not like mine and to dive into deep conversations with people from other faith traditions. 

In the process, my circle of friends has gotten wider and my sense of who my neighbor is has gotten more enmeshed in flesh and blood human beings. 

It turns out, there are still more neighbors for me to meet. This challenge never really ends. But then neither does the task of being a follower of Jesus.

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