In last Sunday’s scripture, the religious leaders were competing with Jesus—trying to diminish his authority with the crowds in the temple courtyard. They are still at it in today’s text. It’s as if they see themselves in sort of World Series—the Temple series for authority. The Sadducees, Pharisees, and scribes have been pitching questions to Jesus as if trying to throw curve balls, knuckle balls, and fast balls. But Jesus connects with each pitch, knocking it out of the park with his answers. In today’s text the Pharisees are throwing their last pitch—testing Jesus with “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?” They are referring to the 613 specific rules that expand upon the Torah—the law handed down by Moses on Mt. Sinai. They are sure that in any answer he gives, Jesus risks pleasing some of his listeners at the expense of alienating others.[1] So, the Pharisees think, surely this time he’ll strike out. Surely this question will undermine his authority with the crowds.
And how does Jesus respond? Instead of naming any one of the specific rules, he responds with one of the most well-known scriptures from the Jewish Bible. He responds using the Shema, recited daily by all pious Jews, the Shema—with which Jews began their worship services in the synagogues. The Shema—recorded in Deuteronomy chapter 6: verses 4 - 5
“4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”
In other words, “Love God with all your being.” I wonder—what is it to love God with all of my being? Some Christian contemplatives throughout the ages have likened it to “falling in love.” Most of us here, at some point in our lives, have fallen in love. What is that like? What happens when you fall in love?
When you fall in love with someone, you want to be with that person.
You want to spend time with them— to be in their presence. In what ways can we attend to God’s presence? For me, it’s intentionally setting aside time—time away from work, time away from chores, and when I was in school, time away from study. For me, it’s intentionally setting aside time to be quiet or still—preferably outdoors in God’s creation. And, for me, it’s setting aside time for worship. I am as intentional about attending to God’s presence in our corporate worship as I am in attending to God’s presence in my alone time. Attending to God’s presence is part of loving God with our whole being. Attending to God’s presence—What is that like for you?
When you fall in love with someone, you want to get to know them—to know all about them. Soon after we met, Kevin got a job 300 miles away. This was in the olden days, before email and cell phones with free long distance. So he wrote me—letters—sharing his interests, his dreams, and his childhood stories. It was through his written word, that I came to know and deeply love Kevin. It is through written word that we can come to know and deeply love God. While we can certainly get to know some things about God through his wonderful creation,
God is revealed to us most completely through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of God’s son, Jesus the Christ. And we come to know Jesus most thoroughly through the written word of God—the Bible. One noted religious author calls the Bible God’s love letters to us. It is in Bible study—both in private, daily devotional reading and in group study and reflection that we come to know this God whom we are invited to love with all our being.
When you fall in love with someone, you want to talk with them. I spent the summer of 2010 in Houston, completing a chaplaincy internship. Although I returned home to Austin each weekend, Kevin and I talked on the phone every weeknight. Our telephone conversations were balanced. He talked, and I listened. I talked, and he listened. We shared. Hmmm my prayers to God could be like those nightly phone conversations. But when I compare the two, I realize my prayers are often one-sided and single-purposed. How many times do I find myself coming to God with a list of requests—God, please do this and this and this—and thank you, Amen. Does this kind of conversation reflect loving God with my whole being? Perhaps in my prayers—my conversations with God—I need give and take—talk and listen. What are your conversations with God like?
When you fall in love with someone, you spend time with their friends and family because if this falling in love proceeds to a long-term commitment, you’re going to be hanging out with these people regularly. It was Joan—one of Kevin’s closest college friends—who became my best friend when our children were young. It was Joan who heard and shared my fears of how to be SuperMom, SuperWife, and SuperTeacher all at once. It was Joan who had my back when the demands of one of these roles overtook the others. Loving God with our whole being means spending time with God’s good buddies—God’s friends and family. Spending time in worship—being in God’s presence together; spending time in study—getting to know God together; spending time in fellowship—making the connections with each other that are facilitated by our common relationship with God; spending time in service—together caring for those of God’s family who are in need. Loving God with all our being leads us into loving relationships with other people!
Which brings us to the 2nd great commandment—love your neighbor as you love yourself. This, too, was a familiar Jewish scripture, a summary offered in
Leviticus after injunctions against lying, stealing, treating workers harshly, and acting out of vengeance and hate. Loving neighbor as self was a familiar Jewish scripture, a summary offered in Leviticus after prescriptions to be just and fair, to provide for the welfare of the poor, and to be sensitive to the differently-abled. Loving neighbor as self was a familiar Jewish principle, and in his Sermon on the Mount earlier in his ministry, Jesus had expanded the definition of neighbor to include all others.
When I asked our children today, “How do you know your parents love you, they were able to answer readily. They have experienced your love. They have heard it and seen it. I, too, have seen you loving others—accompanying each other on doctor visits, visiting friends who can’t get out and about. I have seen you loving others. I have heard the tenderness in your voices, noted the joy on your faces, and watched your hugs as you visit residents in Northpoint and Medicalodge. I have seen you loving others. I have seen the dedication of sorting and distributing clothes through the Thrift Shop. I have seen you loving of others as each week you offer groceries from your shopping list to feed hungry people in Paola. Loving others is action. I have seen your loving others in action.
Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment —singular—which one. But he responds with two—the 2nd following so closely from his lips it is inseparable from the first. We cannot love God with our whole being without also loving others as ourselves.
Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment –the most important rule to follow, but he responds with a principle for living, a “principle that [applies to ] . . . every aspect of religious and communal life.[2]” Love is the lens through which the Pharisees (and Jesus’ other listeners) should interpret and apply the law. Love is the framework which we live our lives within. Love is the foundation for living.
Jesus is asked, “Which is the first and greatest commandment?” He responds “Love God with all your being.” In so doing we begin to love as God loves—indiscriminately. Love God with all your being. In so doing we begin to love who God loves—everyone. So the 2nd great commandment follows—love others as you love yourself. It’s as if Jesus is sketching a self-portrait—love God <move arms vertically> and love others <move arms horizontally>. It’s as if Jesus is drawing a blueprint for our lives. Which is the first and greatest commandment? Do love!
Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 842.
[2] R. T. France, New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 843
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