Although this isn't recent, I believe it illustrates the parable found in this passage. I live in a suburban neighborhood full of families. Next door is a two bedroom home which has been sold several times since it was sold from its original owner.

One neighbor is most memorable. A single man in his early 30s moved in. He had a landscape gardening business, so he created a beautiful entrance in the front of his home. He was relatively quiet until Friday nights.

Each week, a horde of young males would descend on this home and they would party with loud music blaring till well past midnight. Needless to say, he stood out in our neighborhood like a sore thumb. My bedroom is on the exterior wall of our home which faces his back yard patio. Our lots are 1/8 of an acre so INMHO, they are relatively cramped. His parties kept me awake many a night. They were so loud that I was no longer able to open my bedroom window.

People began showing up for these parties as early as 3:30 pm. I grew incredibly weary of the parties and our electricity bill went up in hot summers as we now had to run our air conditioning rather than open the windows and allow in cool air.

My husband and I never said a word to the man about the noise nor did we call the sheriff to ask them to request that they quiet down. We understood this was common activity for this particular group of men.

Later he found a girlfriend who was visibly pregnant and finally a For Sale sign was posted in his yard. I knitted a baby blanket for their child and went next door to deliver it to them. I wished them well and even received a thank you note later in the mail.

I'd like to think that silence on my part was a respectful response to an unwelcome situation. And I do knit a lot of baby blankets, grateful for the opportunity to give it to a deserving couple.