The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
– Mark 12:29–31 (KJV)
We participate through God in a unity that we did not create and cannot annul. To the question, “But who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied with the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10). Jesus welcomed into his kingdom those who could see in the unfortunate of the world his own presence. “For when I was hungry, you gave me food; when thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was a stranger you took me into your home, when naked you clothed me; when I was ill you came to my help, when in prison you visited me” (Matthew 25:35–6 NEB).
Our attempt to treat all other persons with respect, integrity, and love informs our practice and concerns in all our lives, from close interpersonal relationships to the conduct of meetings for business, to the search for international peace. It may be that we shall find unity in Jesus’s simple admonition to “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34 KJV).