WATCHWORD:
30 ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Luke 10:25-29
Meditation:
Love Your Neighbor
I’ve heard it said that loving your neighbor could be a full-time job. If you get a promotion, and you have to move to a different city, you get new neighbors. Or, in my case, if my neighbor moves into the manor and others move into that next-door unit, I would have new neighbors. Why, it could get it downright exhausting! But, maybe that is not the point.
In both the Mark and Luke reading, Jesus sets out two commandments: Loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. If you have read ahead then you know that later Jesus tells us to Love others as He has loved us, and that is a heavy lift, more than exhausting. Let’s think about that one manana!
What does that really mean, to love your neighbor? We could have fun with the Greek translation which suggests much more than what immediately comes to mind in our basically English-speaking language. But, let’s keep it simple. First note that the second commandment has two parts, self-love and other-love.
Pastor Karen Ehman explains: “The original Greek word translated “love” goes beyond having warm, fuzzy feelings toward someone or about ourselves. It suggests action. It means, “To have benevolence toward; to take regard for their welfare.” Based on this definition, love goes beyond feeling good about ourselves (which we don’t always feel) and others (which we don’t always feel) and means taking action in regard to our own welfare, and theirs. “
Turns out, we are already pretty good at self-love! We look out for our welfare each day when we make sure our basic needs are met through food to eat, warm clothes to wear and a comfy place to lay our heads at night. But you and I both know that we often take it a step further beyond meeting our basic needs. We take “me time” by going for a walk alone or doing something fun we love. We buy ourselves special treats and might even pamper ourselves with a manicure or massage. These are all ways we practice self-love.
But, what about that pesky neighbor? How do we love them like we love ourselves? In the Matthew passage, Jesus references two Old Testament verses, Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. Based on the meaning of “neighbor” in Leviticus, Jesus’ audience would have defined “neighbor” as any fellow Israelite OR a resident alien that was welcomed and living within the community.
However, through His story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:29-37, Jesus expands that definition to anyone who needs our help. Jesus illustrates a more extravagant love than was required in the Old Testament — and then commands us to show it. That is what we are called to do, and to be. It is not easy, but the truth be known, truly loving others is difficult and causes us to second guess our other impulses.
Loving your neighbor is, indeed, a full time job. It is called being a Christian. Amen.
Bulletin Board:
As a senior citizen was driving down Interstate I 65, his car phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife’s voice urgently warning him, “Honey, I just heard on the news that there’s a car going the wrong way on I 65. Please be careful.”
“Heck, sweetheart. It’s not just one car, it seems like hundreds of them.”
Closing Prayer:
Dear Lord, I don’t know who or what will cross my path today, but I do know that You are my rock and my fortress. You are my shield and my strong tower. Help me to anchor myself to You throughout this day. Teach me how to stand strong and choose only your way. Open my heart and my mind, Lord, to see the neighbor before me and to love that person as much as I love myself. Help me to walk by your truth and not my feelings. Help me to embrace anything that comes my way as an opportunity to see You at work and as opportunities to point others to You. Amen.
