Listen to the audio of today’s Reflection:
https://soundcloud.com/hapearce/reflection-for-december-12-2023
Matthew 22:34-40
The Greatest Commandment
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Christian Theology has some ideas that can seem contradictory or confusing – like the Trinity, or the idea that we can’t be saved by our works, but we’re still called to keep working at our faith. But some ideas are so clear and direct that they help to illuminate all the rest of our beliefs, and in this passage from Matthew, Jesus sets out two of those clear and direct ideas.
We understand that Jesus was God in human form walking the earth. That means he is the source of all the commandments that have been handed down to humankind through his prophets throughout history. That makes today’s reading an especially important one, because in it, a representative of humankind stands before God and asks which of those many commandments – 613, according to the Jewish scholars – is the greatest.
In the story, a Pharisee theologian asks a simple and straightforward question about the most important commandment. The Pharisees are usually portrayed as enemies of Jesus in the gospels, but church historians tell us that of all the groups in the Jewish world during Jesus’ earthly ministry, it was the Pharisees whose teachings were closest to Jesus’ own. So although there was sometimes friction between Jesus and the Pharisees, it seems possible that on this occasion, the Pharisee might have really wanted Jesus’ insight on this important question.
I suppose lots of those who regularly read (or listen to) these Reflections know the answer Jesus gave by heart. He said we are to love God with all our heart and soul and mind, and love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We could recite his answer, but my sense is that lots of us don’t really think as deeply as we should about what Jesus meant by this answer.
It seems pretty clear that in Jesus’ mind (and we understand that to mean in the mind of God), our love for God and our love for our neighbor are closely related – Jesus says they are alike. He’s asked for one “greatest commandment,” but winds up giving a two-part answer.
The uncomfortable truth is that in God’s mind, our love for him can’t be separated from our love for other people. And that seems to mean for all other people. The Parable of the Good Samaritan seems to make the point that every other person is my ‘neighbor.’ Some of you have heard me quote the great Roman Catholic social activist Dorothy Day, who once said, “I can’t claim to love God more than I love the person I love the least.”
I hate that. There are some people in this world that I really don’t love much at all. Terrorists. Dictators. Guys who beat their wives. Or abuse or neglect their children. Or their animals. Members of drug cartels. Racists and bigots in general. Maybe you have a list of your own “un-lovables.” So what are we supposed to do? Does God actually expect us to love people like that?
I think the answer is ‘yes,’ but I think there’s also an important caveat: We need to keep in mind that the meaning Greek word translated ‘love’ in the New Testament doesn’t really mean the same thing most of us think about when we hear the word ‘love.’ The New Testament word is agape, which isn’t about warm feelings of romance or affection. The word agape means a commitment to the welfare of another person. So from that perspective, it’s possible to love someone even if you don’t like them – even our enemies.
Of course, our love for God should probably include a deepening sense of affectionate love. We’re called to love God in the sense of advancing his interests in the world. But when you really think about how much God has done for us – about his great self-sacrifice on the cross to show his love for us and bring us into his own family – how could we not have a profound sense of affection and gratitude. The maker of the universe has invited us to think of him as a loving father – to call him “Papa.” He’s invited us into a relationship that includes affection as well as reverence and respect.
A healthy love for God shouldn’t be about doing what he says to avoid punishment. That’s not love – that’s fear. The love God invites us into with him is a love colored with gratitude for our blessings, including his forgiveness and our new life in Jesus.
Obviously, our love for other people isn’t always going to be like that. But recognizing that God loves those who seem un-lovable to us, we have an obligation to do what we can to foster in ourselves a genuine commitment to their welfare.
And when it comes to those we think of as enemies, maybe the place to start is by praying for the Holy Spirit to soften their hearts – and our own – to allow peace and reconciliation between us. Maybe in God’s mind, our willingness to pray for that peace and reconciliation represents the seeds of love being planted in our minds and hearts. I hope so. Because for the time being, that’s probably the best I can do.
Maybe that’s where love of God and love of neighbor merge – in our commitment to advancing the interests of each, no matter how difficult that might seem. Maybe because of our deep love and affectionate appreciation for our God, we can learn to make a genuine commitment to doing whatever we can do to advance the welfare of others, because doing that also advances his interests – and helps him bring about his kingdom on earth, as it is in heaven.
Let’s pray. Lord, open our hearts to love you more and more, not just as an authority figure who holds our fates in your hands, but also as a loving Father who has paid a great price to bring us to yourself. And because we know that you care about others – our neighbors and even our enemies – move us to make their welfare our concern as an expression of our love for you. Amen.
Every Blessing,
Henry
(The other readings for today are Psalms 117 and 118; Amos 7:10-17; and Revelation 1:9-16. Our readings come from the NIV Bible, as posted on Biblica.com, the website of the International Bible Society.)
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