"We have met the enemy, and he is us" - Pogo comic strip

     In tales of a pop icon, we learn who the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, supportive, and questioning people are. Some see these people as the enemy, trying to destroy society. If you read the article, you might realize these are real people who are experiencing real harm.

     "Who is my neighbor?" is a question often asked. Jesus told a story about two religious leaders who passed by a man - who had been beaten, stripped naked, and left for dead - for fear that they would become ritually unclean and have to turn back to Jerusalem to be cleansed. An outsider, someone who was considered to be "the wrong kind of people", was moved by compassion and stopped to help the man - even paying for his stay at an inn to recover. The question Jesus asked was "who was the neighbor to the injured man?"

     We all have the choice of being strangers or neighbors. May we be moved by compassion to choose to be neighbors.