The three synopic gospels record Jesus linking the commandment to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, with the injunction to love our neighbour as ourselves. In Luke’s gospel, a lawyer asks for clarification from Jesus, “Who is my neighbour?” and he is told the story of the Good Samaritan.

Who is your neighbour? In many places, our neighbours are little more than strangers. What might you do in your neighbourhood in order to build community? Next time you wave while walking past a neighbour you could stop for a conversation. You could join the website Neighbourly and see what is happening locally. You could invite your immediate neighbours round for morning tea and talk about ways to increase a sense of community.