Lent: Journey Through the Holy Land – Part 43

When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, 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: 34-40

Let’s be honest. We’ve all tried skating through life – doing the bare minimum. We’ve calculated the percentage we need on a test to get by with an A to determine how little we can study. We put value to the gifts others have given us to determine how little we have to spend on a gift for them. And if we’re being completely honest, a lot of times all the calculating and effort we put in to determining what is the bare minimum actually ends up taking more time and effort than just acting out of love.

In this passage, the Pharisee was testing Jesus. According to some Jewish literature, the rabbis discussed the commandments attributed to Moses in order to determine which ones were most important. It is also said that David (Psalm 15) narrowed it down to even fewer, as did Micah (Micah 6:8).

I think we find ourselves asking Jesus this question in an attempt to do the bare minimum.

We read the 10 Commandments and Jesus’ teachings only to think: woah, how am I supposed to be able to remember all these things I should and shouldn’t do? Maybe there’s just one main commandment that I can follow and the other ones won’t be as important. If I stick to this greatest commandment then I should be good. I won’t have to worry if I break the other ones.

But Jesus doesn’t just pick one. It doesn’t work like that. You can’t skate by in your faith. There’s no easy way.

Jesus gave two commandments that day. The first he quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” The second he quotes from Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus sums up all the commandments in one word:

LOVE.

Not only does this sum up the commandments, but Jesus’ ministry here on earth. And on the most holy of weeks in the Christian calendar, Jesus reminds us that our number one commandment / mission / goal / purpose in life is to love. To love with everything we have in us. To love everything around us, near and far.

And this commandment of love comes to us just days prior to the greatest demonstration of love in all of humanity.

For God so loved us, that Jesus died for us.

Are your actions, your words, and your thoughts out of love? Do you love your neighbors and your enemies?

If we are not fueled by our love for God and his people, then aren’t we just skating by in life? Are we truly living with purpose?

Lord, we love You. But sometimes we screw up and forget to love Your people. Sometimes we go out of our way to avoid loving Your people. Lord forgive us. Help us to love Your people, Your creations. Amen.

Abbey Jo