February 6, 2025

Today is the sixth of our daily reflections for Interfaith Harmony Week. (If you missed any of the other days, you can find them in the blog section of our website, interfaithpeaceproject.org .) The Interfaith Peace Project is pleased to offer you these reflections for each day of Interfaith Harmony Week, February 1-7, 2025.

Thomas P. Bonacci, C.P
[email protected]
925-787-9279

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LOVE OF NEIGHBOR
INTERFAITH HARMONY WEEK
Day 6
by Thomas P. Bonacci, C.P.

Adobe Stock 850826165 By Summit Art Creations

Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself,
and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence.
Mencius

The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness. …
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility. …
Atisha

Reflection

Love of neighbor is one of the foundational elements of the Golden Rule. Great spiritual Teachers see the essential oneness of loving God and loving Neighbor. At this point, another crucial element emerges concerning the identity of the neighbor. Several aspects come to mind.

The neighbor is the person who lives next door. For some, that may mean ten miles away. But, for a significant number of people, “next door” is somewhat immediate and close. We become curious about one another as we notice the habits and behaviors of one another. We become naturally concerned about each other’s welfare, especially in the time of trouble.

The neighbor, according to the Teachers, is the person in need. The stranger becomes neighbor, inviting us to be humane in our attitude and compassionate in our deeds. This understanding of neighbor challenges the politics of exclusion with the spiritual practice of inclusion. We are meant to live on Earth as members of one human family. Our diversity is sacred reflecting the beauty of God

Finally, the idea that we are all neighbors to one another challenges the idea that anyone is superior to anyone else. We are pilgrims on the pathways of life as we are better off when we meet one another with respect, love, and openness of mind, heart, and soul.

Wisdom

Won’t you be my neighbor?—Fred Rogers

I am a better me because I met you.—Rumi

Love your neighbor as yourself.—Leviticus 19: 18

Response

When people come to you for help, do not turn them off with pious words, saying, ‘Have faith and take your troubles to God.’ Act instead as though there were no God, as though there were only one person in the world who could help — only yourself.

Martin Buber
A Deep Lover of God

I will be for others, whatever they need me to be.

I will walk through life meeting would be strangers as my neighbors.