But you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord

 But you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord 

All of us are familiar with Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees when asked about the first and great Commandment. (Matthew 22: 24-36)

 

One of the Pharisees, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:34-46) 

However, we sometimes forget the origin of Jesus’ answer. In his answer, Jesus combines two commandments learned from the Hebrew Scriptures: The first, love God is recorded in Deuteronomy 6:4-7.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 

The Second part, “Love your neighbor is found in Leviticus 19:15-18. While both parts are important and Jesus was wise to combine them, in 2020 with all of our divisions and hate and anger and fear and lack of trust I want to focus on loving our neighbors. Leviticus was written in the sixth century B.C. when the Jews were returning from Captivity in Babylon and were rebuilding Jerusalem, the temple and their nation. As you might imagine, there was a bit of fear, distrust, anger and doubt in everyone’s minds and hearts.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.

You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the Lord.

You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

I fear that today it is far easier for many of us to love God than it is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. I fear that we find it comforting to hang out, in person and virtually, with those who believe as we do, and worse yet, to let those who do not believe as we do know exactly how ignorant, stupid and even how inhuman they are. All of this while in the United States, eighty percent of us claim to be Christian and truly believe and proclaim Jesus’ first and great commandment.

 

I believe that this is a great time to be reminded through the words of scripture that we are not the first nation to face trials and tribulations. We are not the first nation in which people of good will and love of country have different understandings of who we are and who we can be, and who God calls us to be. What better time for us to hear the words of the Lord and take them to heart.

 

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord

 

Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and love; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command. Amen. (BCP, p, 235)

 

 

Stand Firm in the Lord and do the Things you have Learned

The letters of St. Paul are written mostly to new churches made up of people who are “young” in the faith. He encourages, at times corrects, and almost always teaches. Paul not only encourages people to use the talents God has given them for the building up of the kingdom, he also encourages everyone in the community to help one another. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians we see him at his best.

“My brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved. I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.”(Philippians 4:1-3)

 

Paul encourages Eudoia and Syntyche in their ministry within the community in the proclamation of the Gospel. He encourages the rest of the congregation to help the two women as the share the good news of Jesus with the community. Paul then encourages the community to be gentle with one another and not to worry, but to bring everything (the good, the bad and the ugly) to God in prayer.

 

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:4-6) He then leaves them with a blessing, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

 

Finally, like Jesus, Paul, having blessed them sends them out with a challenge, a mission and a promise. 

“Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:1-9)

 

In our world today, in which we are sometimes not true or kind or just or honorable toward one another, I want to claim this challenge and mission and promise for those of us who have been called to share the Gospel of love shared with us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. 

Thanks be to God!