In
this interchange between Jesus and the scribe, Jesus
is asked what the greatest commandment is. I suppose that people of all ages
want to know what the bottom line “rule that must be obeyed so that I stay in God’s
favor” is. This is not really a trick question because both Jesus and the
scribe know what the answer is: it comes from the Jewish Scripture: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord
alone! You shall love the Lord your God…with all you’ve got! And the second is
like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The scribe complimented Jesus
on his response, and Jesus complimented the scribe on his interior grasp of
what were the most important idea and action to be treasured: loving God,
and loving others as we love ourselves.
And of course the very ancient
Jewish Scripture quote itself was nothing new or original: for it came from
God’s indelible and internal transcribing on the heart of every person born
into the world: which basically says: I
am God, I created you, I love you, put me first, others second and yourself
last – help one another out and everything will be fine! This is one of the
ancient covenants that God instilled into the hearts of the inhabitants of the
earth years ago: and it is still there now: may we help others today to know
that it is there, and to perhaps lead them to the fullness of celebration of it
reality and power which is found in life in the Church of Jesus: where it is
all lived out to the full each and every day.
Blessed
are those who fear the Lord!
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