Neighbour

 

     We just doubled our flock size with about forty more brown hens. They are good layers but sort of uniform and boring in their appearance. We already have an assortment of different looking chickens; a few Australorps, Araucanas and Americaunas that we've hatched out ourselves. The new brown hens had not seen anyone of a different colour before and have been pecking at these "outsiders" since they arrived just over a week ago. Without our old rooster Kermit to keep the peace I marveled that even in the world of poultry, it is difficult to love our neighbour.
     We've been talking at church about loving our neighbours. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself". It is part of the Shema or the second of the greatest commandments, quoted in several places in the Bible and one of the central tenets of both Judaism and Christianity. And with all this talk of refugees and immigration in the news, a very timely subject. I do not pretend to know all there is to know about this heated and divisive issue. As immigrants ourselves my family of origin experienced a life that could not be had if our parents had stayed in England; loss of immediate contact with our extended family, everyone and everything that was familiar was the price that we had to pay. Some immigrants and refugees do not have as many options nowadays and the price tag is much higher.
     Unfortunately life is not as simple as it is in the chicken coop where a little more hen scratch or a kindly old rooster can usually settle the score. Our pastor reminds us to lean into God and listen; find out who our neighbours are and pray for them. We hear and read that Jesus declared that loving God and loving our neighbour was all that mattered and so the answer there seems fairly simple also. As a member of the human flock, I choose to believe in love.