Deut. 30:10-14; Ps. 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37; Col. 1:15-20; Lk. 10:25-37
The Great Command of the Lord “is not too mysterious or remote…it is something very near to you…you have only to carry it out.” This command in our “mouth” and in our “hearts” is not based on the law of commandments and statutes. Commandments and statutes provide us a roadmap in which we implement the great command of God. The Great Command is to love God with all our heart, mind, and soul and our neighbor as ourselves. This “love” however is sacrificial love. It is the love of Christ Jesus in his sacrifice our us that we may sacrifice ourselves for him. It is not a mystery because Jesus has revealed it to us in his person. It is not remote because he offers himself to remain with us and in us to fulfill the great command. Our mission is to grow in this love that makes all other commandments and statutes a natural process of living in Christ Jesus.
In the gospel, the scholar of the law wants to tests Jesus on his view of the law. Perhaps he wants to see if Jesus is going to uphold all the laws of the Jews but when Jesus asks him to give his interpretation, he is able to summarize all the laws into the great command and Jesus affirms his answer. His desire to justify himself by asking “who is my neighbor” is from a practical position to know who is “in” that category and who is “out”. Is it his tribe, all Jews, or what about the Gentiles? Jesus’ response with a parable gives “neighbor” a whole new meaning. Neighbor separates no one by race, ethnicity, religion, tribe or territory. To be neighbor is to be a servant to those in need.
When I was young it was quite common for someone to knock on our door and it would be a child from the neighborhood asking for his family if we had “some flour, butter, oil…a screwdriver, hammer, or any number of things” to lend, share or give them. Being a neighbor was looking out for each other, offering to help, caring and asking “how are you doing?” Today we have a tendency to live in isolation by the rule of “don’t ask, don’t tell”. The great command however remains and when tragedy strikes as it did this past week in Texas with the flooding people respond in great numbers because God is not only with us, he lives in us to respond to the need. Praise be to God, we live because the great command lives in us.
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