There is no other commandment greater than these

 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, which is the first commandment of all?"  Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is:  'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."  So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher.  You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.  And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."  Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  But after that no one dared question Him.

- Mark 12:28-34

 Yesterday we read that as Jesus was in the temple in Jerusalem, the leaders sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words.  When they had come, they said to Him, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth.  Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?  Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?"  But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Bring Me a denarius that I may see it."  So they brought it.  And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"  They said to Him, "Caesar's."  And Jesus answered and said to them, "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  And they marveled at Him.  Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves is wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.  And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring.  And the third likewise.  So the seven had her and left no offspring.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?  For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.  But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.  You are therefore greatly mistaken."

Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, which is the first commandment of all?"  Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is:  'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one.  And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'  This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  There is no other commandment greater than these."  So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher.  You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.  And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."  Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  But after that no one dared question Him.  In His response to one of the scribes, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which my study bible says is the greatest Jewish confession of faith, called the shema' (meaning "hear," which is the first word of the confession).  Jesus compounds this confession with another command, Leviticus 19:18, and combines what is already present in the Old Testament in order to build a new understanding:  the love of neighbor is an expression of the love of God.  Let us note, in keeping with observations in yesterday's commentary that there are those righteous among the leaders, that this scribe asks Jesus an honest question, as he has heard He and the Pharisees and Herodians reasoning together, and perceived that He had answered them well.   My study bible also comments that Jesus' mention of the second commandment is frequently misunderstood.  It does not teach us to love our neighbors with the same measure of love we have for ourselves; rather it teaches us to love neighbor as of the same nature of ourselves, being created in God's image and likeness as are we.  This is very similar to the teaching on marriage, if we think about it -- that "the two shall become one flesh."  Thus, we find our true self in loving others, and in particular rooted first in loving God.

If we look at the fullness of the second command Jesus gives (Leviticus 19:18), it begins with the teaching, "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people. . .."  This enforces the understanding of loving neighbor as oneself, in the sense in which my study bible comments, above, as we are to understand that the purpose of righteousness -- as taught by these commands -- is community.  In other words, God's teachings and intent of the law, as given through Moses, is to create community.  If we recognize that each is of the same nature, a creature of God, then we start with the understanding built in to our approach to life that we live in a world created and given to us by Creator, and each person is a fellow offspring of Creator.  Jesus puts these two commands together to give us a kind of universal enveloping understanding of how we stand in right relatedness both to Creator and to one another as creatures.  These commands do not preclude justice, but are meant to enhance justice within the fullness of an understanding of who we are and who God is; moreover, that understanding is couched in the true nature of relationship with both.  In the Greek, the word for neighbor is rooted in the word for close or near, it means the one who is nearby.  This can be understood in a very particular way from the story Jesus tells to illustrate the point in Luke's Gospel; that is, the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  In Jesus' parable, it is literally the one who happens upon an injured man and helps him who is the true neighbor, and happens to be a Samaritan, and not a Jew.  This, to my way of thinking, is a very personal way of understanding Jesus' teachings -- that so much depends upon our personal encounters with others.  This is not a grand statement of simply general ethics, principles, or abstract thinking.  It is anything but a teaching that allows us to make a political statement or slogan based on its teachings, and then treat our perceived enemies with no-holds-barred ruthlessness.  The command is all about the personal, and our personal encounters with others, even our intimate behavior, if you will.  We are called to actively love in a way that promotes peace and minimizes needless conflict and endless recrimination in a cycle of violence or hostility.  We are called to act with forbearance and prudence with others, a kind of public respect that doesn't violate certain boundaries.  It is the basis for what has rather quaintly come down to us today as "good manners,"  but in fact took root as a profound and revolutionary social teaching.   It is, in particular to my mind, a personal commitment Jesus speaks to here -- to remember God's presence within and among each of our other encounters with those who are "nearby."  And this is indeed a way to remember God, an invitation to a prayerful way of living our lives.  We remember that the commitment is first to love of God, our Creator, and that from this loving relationship to a loving Creator flows our proper relationship to neighbor, to those who are "close," whom we may encounter and with whom we interact in our lives.  That means every one.  These are the true roots of community, a personal commitment regarding our conduct to all whom we meet wherever we find ourselves.  It calls upon us to learn discipleship, even as the apostles were taught to be wise as serpents and guileless as doves.  On the page of my blog titled Prayers, I have included an Orthodox Prayer for the Beginning of the Day.  Part of it reads, "Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Your will governs all.  In all my deeds and words, guide my thoughts and feelings.  In unforeseen events, let me not forget that all are sent by You.  Teach me to act firmly and wisely, without embittering and embarrassing others."  The words of this prayer do indeed embody the teachings of Christ in today's reading, the two commandments He puts together as one in response to the scribe.  Let us endeavor to do -- to act, think, work, and live -- as He teaches.  May God's grace be with us to do so, as the prayer also includes:  "Give me strength to bear the fatigue of the coming day with all that it shall bring.  Direct my will, teach me to pray.  And, Yourself, pray in me.  Amen."