November 16, 2025

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SERMON: Love Your Neighbour As Yourself

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Word of God calls us back to the very heart of the gospel: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The command sounds simple, doesn’t it? And yet it is one of the most demanding, most radical, and most life-changing commands Jesus ever gave. Jesus did not say, “Love the ones who are like you,” or “Love the ones who agree with you,” or even “Love the ones who love you back.” He said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And through His teaching in Matthew 25, Jesus makes it clear who our neighbor truly is: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the sick, the prisoner, the least of these.

I once read about a man of God whose friends said, “His real name was Love. He loved everyone he met. He even loved those he had never met.” At the end of his life, he testified, “I know of no enemies, and I have no hatred in my heart for any person. Every man and woman is a child of my Heavenly Father, and my only desire has been to follow the Savior’s command to love my neighbor as myself.” What a testimony. And what would it mean if that could be said about you and me—that we were known not for our careers, possessions, or opinions, but for our love?

True love is never just words. It takes action. I think of a man who once visited a poor family. Their poverty moved him so deeply that when he left, he quietly took off his shoes and gave them away, walking home barefoot. That is what love looks like. Love costs something. Love is willing to set aside our own comfort for the sake of others. Jesus Himself demonstrated this. He left the glory of heaven to walk among us in humility and poverty. He laid down His life for our salvation. Love always gives; love always sacrifices.

This is not simply a story from long ago. This is our calling, here and now. God is asking us: Do you see your neighbor in need? Do you hear the cry of the lonely, the struggling, the sick, the broken? Do you feel the Spirit nudging you to stop, to kneel, to lift someone up? Because if we do not love, the world will see us as people who care only for ourselves and keep our lives closed off. But if we love deeply and sacrificially, the world will see Jesus through us. In Cuba, in our neighbourhoods, in our workplaces, even in our own families, God is calling us to be the hands and feet of Christ.

There is a joy in giving that nothing else in this world can match. Have you felt it—that deep, quiet happiness that comes when you bless someone and expect nothing in return? A Hungarian writer once said, “True wealth belongs to the giver. The miser is the poorest of all, for he denies even himself the joy of sharing. A person’s real richness is measured by generosity. Greed is the worst kind of poverty, because it refuses to let blessings flow onward.” Why does it feel so good to give? Because it mirrors the heart of God. Our Heavenly Father has given us everything—life, breath, salvation in Christ Jesus—freely and undeservedly. When we give, we reflect His image. The apostle John said it plainly: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar.” True love for God cannot exist without love for people.

Of course, loving others is not always easy. People can be difficult. They hurt us, disappoint us, frustrate us. But love is not blind to flaws; it chooses to see beyond them. When we meet someone whose faith is fragile or whose life is shattered, we are not meant to turn away. We are called instead to reach out with kindness and compassion, to encourage, to uplift, to help restore. We cannot force anyone to follow Christ, but we can love them in such a way that they begin to hunger for what we have. Our kindness, patience, and forgiveness become living sermons that speak louder than any words we could speak.

Real happiness does not come from money, success, or possessions. True joy flows from a life poured out in love and service. When our earthly journey ends and we stand before the throne of God, we will not be measured by bank accounts or titles. We will be measured by the love we gave, the kindness we showed, the mercy we extended to “the least of these.” And then, if we have loved as Christ loved, we will hear those glorious words: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”

So today, let each of us reflect: How are we showing love to others? How can we heal relationships with neighbours, coworkers, or family members? What Scriptures stir us to serve? What can we do now—whether here or in faraway places like Cuba—to lift those who suffer? Do we truly believe that happiness comes from making others happy?
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Brothers and sisters, the gospel of Jesus Christ is love. Love God with all your heart. Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commands hang all the Law and the Prophets. Let us be a people known for love—a people who shine light in a dark world, who give generously, who forgive freely, who embrace warmly, who see every person as a child of our Heavenly Father. Because when we love our neighbour, we are loving Jesus Himself. And one day He will look into our eyes and say, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Amen.