On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets

 

 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

 

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:

'The LORD said to my Lord,

"Sit at My right hand,

 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?

"If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"   And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him any more.  

 

- Matthew 22:34–46 

 

Yesterday we read that, on the same day that the Pharisees sought to trap Jesus with a question about paying Roman taxes, the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching.

 

  But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.  Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."  My study Bible comments that the Pharisees had found 613 commandments in the Scriptures, and they debated constantly about which one was central.  Here Jesus sets forth the first and the second, which together constitute a grand summary of the Law.  Although this lawyer has come with malice to test Jesus, we know from St. Mark's account of this story that he is converted by Christ's answers (Mark 12:28-34).  My study Bible expands further on the second commandment given by Jesus that it must be understood as it is written; You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  More clearly stated, it would read, "as being yourself."  It's often misunderstood to mean "You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself," which effectively destroys the force of the statement.  How much we love ourselves isn't the standard by which Christ calls us to love others.  My study Bible says that we are called to love our neighbor as being of the same nature as we ourselves are, as being created in God's image and likeness just as we are.  As the Church Fathers teach, we find our true self in loving our neighbor.  In St. Luke's Gospel, Jesus offers these two commandments to a lawyer who asks Him about attaining eternal life.  The law then follows up with a question, "And who is my neighbor?" to which Jesus replies by telling the story of the Good Samaritan (see Luke 10:25-37).

 

 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?  If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"   And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him any more.   My study Bible notes here that Christ asks this question in order to lead the Pharisees to the only logical conclusion:  that He is God Incarnate.  They supposed the Messiah to be a mere man, and so they reply that the Messiah would be a Son of David.  But David, as king of Israel, could not and would not address anyone as "lord" except God.  But in Psalm 110:1, David refers to the Messiah as "Lord."  Therefore, the Messiah must be God.  The only possible conclusion is therefore that He is a descendant of David only according to the flesh -- but is also divine, sharing Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  My study Bible adds that the Pharisees are unable to answer any further because they realize the implications, and they fear to confess Jesus to be the son of God.  In the psalm verse quoted by Jesus, the answer is that the first reference to the LORD applies to God the Father, while the term my Lord refers to Christ.  

 

 The commentary on today's reading found in my study Bible invites us to think more deeply about Christ's second commandment listed here.  That is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  The two commandments which Jesus cites here, putting them together as that upon which hang the whole of the Law and the Prophets (that is, the Scriptures known to the Jews at that time), are Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18.  Let us remember that the one who questions Christ here is called a lawyer in the text; that is, he is an expert in the Law, in the commandments of the Scriptures.   The full verse of Leviticus reads as follows:  "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord."  So, it seems important to note in this context that the first part of this instruction is a command to refrain from vengeance against "the children of your people."  Its thrust and purpose seems clear; that is, it is meant as a command to refrain from dissension and violence within the community.  We know this is a central problem in the Old Testament, the world having descended from the first sin mentioned in Genesis to the evil of Lamech, who bragged to his two wives in a song as follows:  "Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; wives of Lamech, listen to my speech! For I have killed a man for wounding me, even a young man for hurting me.  If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy-sevenfold" (Genesis 4:23-24).  Of such importance was this growing cycle of vengeance that in the time of Lamech's son, Noah, God would decide to flood the world and start over, preserving the lineage of one "who found grace in the eyes of the Lord" and who was "a just man" "who walked with God" (see Genesis 6:5-13).  God's entire emphasis after that, in creating a people via Abraham's faith (accounted to him as righteousness), who would be led by Moses and through him given the Law, was to create a community in the image God desired.  So, there we come to the prohibition against vengeance and its terrible effects upon community. To love neighbor as oneself, as my study Bible explains, is to know others as "the children of your people;" that is, as one like yourself.  It's most important, in considering today's reading and this commandment, that we consider the story of the Good Samaritan as Christ's response to the question, "And who is my neighbor?"  The lawyer's answer in that passage is that "the one who showed mercy" was neighbor to the other, and Jesus' command follows:  "Go and do likewise."  If we look carefully at that story of the Good Samaritan, we may conclude that this command to show mercy is one in which we are willing to take the first step, the initiative, in being a neighbor.  The first commandment given here teaches us not just to follow or even to have faith and believe, but to love God "with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  This establishes the most basic relationship that defines who we are, for in loving God in such a complete way, we wholeheartedly love Love itself (1 John 4:8), and through a depth of drawing toward union with God, we learn love from God.  Let us endeavor, wherever we are, to create the community that God wants from us, learning to follow these commandments, and to be the kind of neighbor God wants us to become.

 

 

 

 

 

You shall love your neighbor as yourself

 

 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.   Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."  

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:

    'The LORD said to my Lord,

    "Sit at My right hand,

    Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?

"If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.

 

- Matthew 22:34–46 

 

In our current reading, Jesus is in the temple in Jerusalem.  It is Holy Week, the final week of Christ's earthly life, and Jesus has been disputing with the religious leaders.  Yesterday we read that the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses said that if a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were with us seven brothers.  The first died after he had married, and having no offspring, left his wife to his brother.  Likewise the second also, and the third, even to the seventh.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?  For they all had her."  Jesus answered and said to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.  For in the resurrection they nether marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven.  But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living."  And when the multitudes heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. 

 

 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.   Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?"  Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it:  'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."   My study Bible comments here that the Pharisees had found 613 commandments in the Scriptures.  They debated about which one was central, so they are inviting Christ to provide His answer here.  Jesus provides the first and second commandments, which constitute a grand summary of the Law.  My study Bible suggests that although the lawyer came with malice to test Him, we know from St. Mark's gospel that this man is converted by Jesus' answer (Mark 12:28-34).  Moreover, my study Bible explains also that the second commandment given here by Jesus needs to be understood as it is written:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself, or perhaps more clearly, "as being yourself."  It notes that this commandment is frequently misinterpreted to read, "You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself," which doesn't match the true force of the statement.  We are not called to the standard of how we love ourselves as the way we must love others.  We are called to love our neighbor as being of the same nature as we ourselves are, my study Bible teaches, as being created in God's image and likeness just as we are.  In patristic teaching, we're taught that we find our true self in loving our neighbor.  

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, "What do you think about the Christ?  Whose Son is He?"  They said to Him, "The Son of David."  He said to them, "How then does David in the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool"'?  If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"  And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.  My study Bible notes that Jesus asks this question in order to lead the Pharisees to the single logical conclusion; in effect, that He is God incarnate.  The expectation of the Pharisees is that the Messiah would be a mere human being, and so they reply that the Messiah would be a Son of David.  But David, as the king of Israel, could never, and would never address anyone using the title "Lord" except God.   But nonetheless, in Psalm 110:1, David addresses the Messiah as "Lord," indicating that the Messiah must be God.  The only possible conclusion, my study Bible comments, is that the Messiah is a descendant of David only according to the flesh, but is also truly divine -- sharing Lordship with God the Father and the Holy Spirit.  Consequently the Pharisees cannot answer.  They recognize the implications and they are afraid to confess Jesus to be the Son of God. 

 

 Perhaps today is a good occasion to consider this second great commandment that Jesus gives.  It is ancillary but essential to the first.  The first, we recall, is "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind."  The second is, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."   (These are from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.)  My study Bible goes to great pains to explain that this does not mean one must love one's neighbor as much as or in the same way one loves oneself.  (So often we are quite imperfect in the ways we love ourselves!)  But rather, my study Bible explains, we are to love our neighbor as if they are made of the same stuff that we are, of the same nature, created by God in the image and likeness of God.   So often our popular or modern notions of what constitutes "love" seem to evolve to include things that were not necessarily there in the Scripture for its intended hearers.  We have private notions of love that depend closely on what we feel belongs to us, or what we would long for in a mate or a friend or even a child.  But the kind of love that Christ always speaks about is a love that involves definite and particular actions that express compassion.  When this same passage is found in St. Luke's gospel, it is embellished and illustrated with the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  The Samaritan in the story is a model of what it means to love a neighbor "as oneself," even if he's a Samaritan and the victim of robbers whom he helps and cares for is a Jew.  To love in that case was to act as a neighbor, to be a neighbor by doing what is needful and thereby expressing compassion.  When the people who've come out to see Jesus have been with Him into evening and have nothing to eat, He commands the disciples to feed them, and completes this act of compassion (extended from His first impulse to heal and teach); see Matthew 14:13-21.  He illustrates compassion when He speaks of Judgment, in His role as the true Shepherd who separates the sheep and the goats.  He tells those on His right hand, the favored ones, "I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me."  (See Matthew 25:31-46.)  These are all illustrations of acts of compassion, and let us keep in mind that it is not simply the specific action that we must fulfill by rote as if we are crossing items off a list to be within the rules of the law.  These are actions that are moved from the heart, from the inner life of a person, the soul.  They are ways in which we love others as if we recognize the same needs, the same substance as ourselves, in them.  They are not abstract, but rather couched within the substance of the first great commandment, a love of God with all one's heart, soul, and mind.   So often we find it is difficult to love people in the sense that we approve or love all the things they believe or do.  But we can nevertheless love by recognizing need and seeking to help fill that need, by having compassion and recognizing in the fulfillment of that need that they are of the same nature that we are, even when quite different in other ways.  There are all kinds of people we wouldn't necessarily want to live with or be with all the time, but we can still recognize the needs we would have in their place, and seek to help.  An act of compassion does not have to be purely material, either.  Sometimes people just need someone to smile at them, or to express a compassion through care in other ways, even simply to be acknowledged with a gaze.  There are myriad ways to express compassion.   It's not a competitive contest to see who can give the most, it's not checking off the box of counting up our good deeds, it's not about our image in the eyes of others.  None of that enters into what Jesus is telling us.  In fact, our act of compassion may quite often be something embarrassing to us, even frowned upon, such as befriending an unpopular person who's not of our nominal group.  Our Lord Himself set this example when He became sin and scandal out of love for us, put to death on the Cross.  Let us consider the meaning of Christ's love, as illustrated by His life and His work among us, and find the simple ways we can live it.

 

Which is the first commandment of all?

 

 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, an 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 

 

Then they 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 his 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, an 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.   My study Bible says that, in response to one of the scribes, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which is the greatest Jewish confession of faith.  This is commonly called the Shema' (which means "hear," the first word of the confession).  Adding to this, He quotes from Leviticus 19:18.  Thus, Jesus combines what is already present in the Old Testament to create a new understanding.  That is, that the love of neighbor is an expression of love of God.  In context, we should understand that the Pharisees had found 613 commandments in the Scriptures, and it was common practice to debate which one was central.  Here Jesus gives the first and the second, thus summarizing the Law.  

If we look carefully at Leviticus 19:18, its emphasis is on peace through righteousness:  "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord."  Note carefully that its main prohibition is against retribution:  vengeance and grudge-bearing.  Jesus places -- as He often does -- a positive emphasis on the command.  He says, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."  It reminds us of the similar passage in Luke 10:25-37, in which Jesus is asked, "Who is my neighbor?"  In response, He gives the parable of the Good Samaritan, which further places emphasis on the positive, as opposed to the prohibitive.  After telling the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus asks His interlocutor, "So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  That man replied, "He who showed mercy on him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  Again, in this command, "Go and do likewise," we have the positive emphasis on what we are to do, how we are to be a neighbor and to live like a neighbor.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus gives a very hard positive command.  He teaches, "I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Matthew 5:44-45).  But He does so in context, and consistently with the passages we're examining in the context of His response to the scribe in today's reading.  He's teaching quite simply that God is love, and that we are to be "like God."  That is, our expressions of mercy, our positive capacity to "be a neighbor," to live righteous lives, these are all in keeping with Christ's summary of the Law -- that we are love God and by extension to practice love for neighbor.   It is important to note, however, that the first of all the commandments is to "love the LORD your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength."  What this does is set down a foundation for what love is and does and means, and how we are to practice discernment in living out these positive commands of Christ.  This is the true foundation for finding our way in life, because to start with the love of God establishes us in the most primary relationship we need for finding Christ's way of life and living it ourselves.  We can abstract out principles all day long, thinking about how we want others to treat us, and how we don't, but more importantly is the whole concept of love and of life.  For example, if I like to indulge myself with things that aren't really good for me, is that loving my neighbor to encourage them to do the same?   Do we participate in gossip because we want to please the neighbor or relative who'd like us to join in?  It is simply too easy to follow theories that sound good, but do not effectively do good.  The positive enactment of these commands -- and especially, to understand what love is -- becomes the most important directive for our lives in Christ's teaching.  It is for this discernment that we practice discipleship, and that we are on a course all of our lives to continue learning to walk in Christ's way.  That can only begin with a foundation in the love of God, setting us in an experiential participation through worship and prayer, learning not only with the mind but also with the heart.  Throughout the Old Testament, and in the Didache, the earliest teaching document in the Church, is described "the Two Ways."  The two ways are the way of life and the way of death.  For Old Testament examples, see for instance Proverbs 12:28, Jeremiah 21:18, Deuteronomy 30:15, 19; Isaiah 1:19-20.  These are about the relationship to God and following God's commands.  Right in the beginning of the Didache, the two commands given by Christ in today's reading form the example of the way of life.  In a world that seems to offer a dizzying variety of variables in terms of what might be prescribed as a "good life" and what might not, we need perhaps ever more diligently to root ourselves in God.  To do good to one's enemies does not necessarily mean that we are to root for what we know is harmful in some dimension, even if this is the choice for some.  To pursue a path that is ultimately harmful and destructive, it would quite obviously seem, is to pursue the "way of death" and not the way of life.  Whether we speak of violence on a grand scale, or even on a personal one that is harmful to the littlest and least powerful, we need to seriously consider the first commandment given by Christ.  For all the questions we have in life, and the increasing proliferation of choices, theoretical lifestyles, and questions of tolerance, peace, and righteousness, there should be no doubt that we must root ourselves in the love of God.  For it is only there, in God who is love, that we can truly learn love -- what is helpful and what is harmful to human beings and human life.  For Christ comes with a promise of abundant life, and we can see so much around us of the way of death, even in things that nominally sound "good."   The saints that we know show us the way of life; let us follow in their footsteps and take inspiration from them. 

 

 

 

Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

 

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  

 

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said, "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

 

- Luke 10:25-37 

 

Yesterday we read that the seventy apostles returned from their first mission with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions , and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."   

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'"  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."   Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said, "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."   My study bible explains the parable by telling us that Jerusalem is the place of peace, symbolic of communion with God.  But Jericho, on the other hand, was a place renowned as one of sin (see 19:1-10).  To fall among thieves, it says, speaks to to the natural consequence of journeying away from God and toward a life of sin (see John 10:10). 

"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side."  My study bible tells us that titles and positions are meaningless in the sight of God when the works of faith do not accompany them.  It quotes St. Cyril of Alexandria here:  "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds."  That both the priest and the Levite fail to help the man also indicates the failure of the Old Testament Law to heal the consequences of sin.  

"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion."  My study bible explains that the Samaritan, who is a despised foreigner, is an image of Christ (John 8:48).  For Christ "came down from heaven," as it says in the Creed, to save even those who are in rebellion against Him.  

"On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'"  My study bible tells us that the bandages, oil, and wine (all commonly used at the time for healing) are sacramental images.   They image, first of all, the garment of baptism, delivering us from the wounds of sin.  Second, the oil of chrismation which gives us new life in the Holy Spirit.  Moreover, in the wine is imaged the communion of the divine Blood, which leads to eternal life.  His own animal gives us an image of Christ bearing our sins in His own body, while the inn symbolizes the Church in which Christ's care is received.  Finally, Christ pays the price for that care (1 Corinthians 6:20, 7:23).  

"So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  Christ teaches us that being a neighbor is an active pursuit of living our faith in daily life.  Indeed, He gives us all the command to do so by saying, "Go and do likewise."

 

For many of us, it's hard not to reconcile the notion of the Good Samaritan with our modern notions against racism and other types of prejudice.  This is indeed important, as Christ would shatter many such restrictions in the way of thinking.  This is expressed possibly most clearly in St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 3:28, when he writes, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."  Within the Body of Christ, we are one.  But there is a deeper meaning to the parable of the Good Samaritan than a message about divisions between ethnic groups or other sorts of sources of group identity.  For that broader and deeper message, we need to turn to Jesus' parable about the Judgment, in which He separates the sheep and the goats, found in Matthew 25:31-46.  In that parable about the final judgment, Jesus separates the righteous from the others based upon their works of mercy produced by their faith.  The righteous ask Him, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?"  And Jesus says, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."  In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus is also teaching along these same lines, advocating what it is to be a neighbor, and dissolving lines of ethnic or other divisions that meddle with identity within and among those who would be righteous.  He is emphatically teaching that it is righteous behavior -- those who show care and mercy as products of faith -- that deems a person a true neighbor.  He issues a command for each of us to "go and do likewise."  Note that this puts the emphasis on initiative by us, we who follow Christ's teachings.  We do not wait for another to define "neighbor" for us.  Neither do we take our cues from anywhere else but from our own faith.  In effect, it takes this perspective to cement in the teaching of Christ that to truly be righteous, one must both "love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind," and "your neighbor as yourself."  In Christ's understanding and teaching, faith and works are not separated into two distinct categories.  Rather, one must be a product of the other, and they go hand in hand.  To be a true neighbor requires real faith and love of God, and it also asks for the hands to express the heart that loves God in the world.  Let us note that the Samaritan did not search for a cause to prosecute, a party to support, or any other way to follow a social grouping based on an abstract preposition.  This is life as lived and experienced; he came upon the hurt man and responded as faith in God would call him to respond.  It is, in a sense, allowing God to present him with a dilemma and making a choice to do what is necessary to do with what is right in front of him.  It interferes with his plans, his interests, and what he had in mind.  But this is how life works.  God calls on us out of the blue, through things placed right in front of us to respond to, to make choices over.  I imagine the Samaritan had to ask himself what was more important -- and the heart responds with a course of action based on the choice made out of the love for God.  If we each look into our own lives, we will find God placing such options and choices before our eyes and hands all the time, in which circumstances compel us to make choices as to where our true identity and loyalties really lie.  For the Samaritan, helping this hurt man was at once more important than the needs of business, spending his time and effort and even laying out money to help with his care.  For each of us, choices will come out of the blue and force us to think about priorities and choose where our real identity and loyalty must be, for this is the way God works in our lives.  So where are you called today, and what choices do you have to make?  We should remember that our own identities really depend upon the answers we make -- the place we decide our true loyalty resides.  

 

 

 

 

A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  Then Jesus answered and said:  "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side.  But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took our two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'  So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

- Luke 10:25-37

Yesterday we read that, after being sent out on their first mission, the seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name."  And He said to them, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven."  In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, "I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes.  Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.  All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him."  Then He turned to His disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it."

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"  He said to him, "What is written in the law?  What is your reading of it?"  So he answered and said, " 'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'  And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."  But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?"  A lawyer is an expert in the Mosaic Law and the traditional practices built up around it, likely a scribe, but here in this passage the emphasis on an understanding of the religious law is important.  Jesus, as He so often does, turns the question back on the one who asks.  The lawyer gives the same answer Jesus Himself gives elsewhere (see Matthew 22:37-40), quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18.  The lawyer then takes his turn to ask Christ yet again another question -- and this one goes to the heart of the matter.  How does one interpret neighbor?  Perhaps, in seeking to justify himself, the lawyer is considering what that truly means for himself, and this is an honest question, for Christ gives him an honest answer designed to help him think about the question.  The parable of the Good Samaritan that follows, we should note, is found only in Luke.

"A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead."  Throughout the history of the Church, the patristic writers have viewed this parable as allegorical to the Church itself.  Jerusalem is understood as a place of peace, which is symbolic of communion with God.  But Jericho, by contrast, was renowned as a place of sin (see 19:1).   To fall among thieves, my study bible says, speaks to the natural consequence of journeying away from God toward a life of sin (see John 10:10).  In a certain sense, this journey is through a "valley of the shadow of death," as Psalm 23 reads.  Jericho, therefore, as understood by St. Ambrose of Milan, is an image of the world through which we all pass.

"Now by chance a certain priest came down that road.  And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side."  My study bible comments here that titles and positions are meaningless in the sight of God when good deeds don't accompany them.  Cyril of Alexandria writes, "The dignity of the priesthood means nothing unless he also excels in deeds."  That the priest and the Levite do not help the man also indicates the failure of the Old Testament Law to heal the consequences of sin. 

"But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was.  And when he saw him, he had compassion."  The Samaritan is a despised foreigner from a region between Judea and Galilee, whose doctrines and beliefs retain many of the same bases of the faith of the Jews, but differ in certain points of contention.   He is an image of Christ (John 8:48), as He "came down from heaven" (Creed) to save even those in rebellion against Him.

"And when he saw him, he had compassion.  So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  On the next day, when he departed, he took our two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.'"   Bandages, oil, and wine are sacramental images, my study bible comments.  Bandages give us the image of the garment of baptism, which delivers us from the wounds of sin.  The oil of chrismation gives us new life in the Holy Spirit.  The communion of divine blood, as figured in the wine, leads to eternal life, the basis of the lawyer's question in the first place.  That the Samaritan set him on his own animal, it says, indicates Christ bearing our sins in His own body.  The inn reveals the Church in which Christ's care is received.  Jesus pays the price for that care (1 Corinthians 6:20; 7:23).   When Christ comes again, at the judgment of the righteous, those who practice mercy and compassion ("take care") will be repaid.

So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?"  And he said, "He who showed mercy on him."  Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."  Christ's words are for all of us, but in particular those in the Church who seek to be His followers.

If we read the complete law which teaches to love one's neighbor as oneself (Leviticus 19:18), it begins with the admonition, "You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people . . .."  The emphasis here is on refraining from vengeance, and from a cherished anger or hatred, enmity.   Certainly between the Samaritans and the Jews such enmity existed, and so the image of the Samaritan is important to the story.   It is the Samaritan who, through his actions and choices, redeems relationship, and chooses to be neighbor by showing mercy on the one hurt by the thieves.  If we view this parable as it has been historically seen by Church Fathers, especially in the early centuries of the Church, we see the redemption of Christ's mercy at work, which seeks to teach that all are neighbors of one another, but that this can only exist through faith in the work of Christ and the redemptive power of the gospel and the gifts given to us for unity in the love of God, such as baptism, the Eucharist, the gift of the Holy Spirit -- all of which enable and activate the practice of mercy as spiritual good and healing property.  These elements do not merely address the external, but rather the internal wounds of sin that separates us from God and one another -- and in particular the environment of a world permeated with error, hostility, enmity, and misleading teachings that harm rather than doing good (John 16:2).  Here we are, in this world, this "valley of the shadow of death," that seems to be, quite often, the same as it ever was.  In a modern point of view, we may take scientific, legal, and other forms of advances as proof that our world is simply not the same as it was, and so these advances -- when they do indeed come in the form of compassion, care, and mercy -- do form a kind of help for us all, an improvement in the lot of the world.  But healing is more than physical, and this is a parable meant to teach about the gift of eternal life, the life of the soul.  And in this context, we need to look again at what Jesus teaches.  In the care of the soul, there is no separation between what we do and who we are.  For the pure in heart (Matthew 5:8) there is no difference between the inside of the cup and the outside (Matthew 23:26).  It is this practice of mercy, in which we rely on God to teach us its depth of practice and to transfigure us into the image that Christ has of us, in which the world is transformed from stranger to neighbor.  For this practice deep in the soul, these things begin in the heart, with what we nourish and what we cherish as our greatest treasure and blessing, and that is where "neighbor" begins.  This is not merely a story about outward acts, nor is it a teaching only about a conviction or principle.  It is, rather, a story about active faith -- about how the choices we make will reflect the love of God (Who is love) which we actively cultivate and cherish within ourselves, especially through the methods and practices offered to us to participate in this Kingdom and the love of Christ.  The fullness of belonging to this Samaritan who takes on the burden of care for a hurting world is the fullness of life everlasting for each of us.  Christ teaches us not merely about outward acts, but also about the depths of love that can be at work in us, that there is no real measure of how deeply we can proceed and participate in this love, even as we walk through this valley of the shadow of death, so long as the Lord our Shepherd is with us, as the Psalm teaches.  Jesus, through this parable, gives us an image of the world.  Our lives, and all the circumstances through which we pass, may not be perfect.  We may be beset by the thieves who would steal away and destroy this love that means peace in the perfect heavenly Jerusalem, the place of our root and origin.  But we each have the chance to participate actively in God's compassion through the gifts we're given via Christ's Incarnation.  The gift is before us, even as Jesus travels to Jerusalem and His own hour of glory, to the Cross and to Resurrection.  Let us consider that transforming work in our own lives today.   Let us also consider the times in which we may find ourselves "wounded" and left "half dead," perhaps literally, but quite often figuratively.  It is for those times that we call on the Lord and His way of compassion and the cross, to see us through with the care we need, to get us to the place we need to be.

You are not far from the kingdom of God

 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 they sent to Jesus some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words as He taught in the temple.  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 his 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.  Jesus answers the question of the scribe by quoting Deuteronomy 6:4-5, which is the greatest Jewish confession of faith.  It is called the shema', which means "hear," the first word of the confession.  He then quotes Leviticus 19:18, creating a combination in order to forge a new understanding.  Consistent with His teaching to the apostles regarding the care of the littlest and their use of power (see all the readings from last week), and with His teachings on prayer and forgiveness (see Tuesday's reading), Jesus expresses through what is already present in the Old Testament a new lesson:  that love of neighbor is an expression of love of God.  Let us note that this scribe, a lawyer, is told by Jesus that he is "not far from the kingdom of God."  The Gospels give us a sense that among the leadership there are those who become faithful followers of Christ, including the Pharisee Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy man of Jerusalem, both members of the ruling Council.

It's important that we understand that despite what is to come, Jesus' condemnation by the Council, the Gospels teach us that all members of the Council are not alike.  Rather, the picture we get is one of manipulation from the powerful at the top through wrong use of power, violations of their own law and procedure, and for reasons of envy.  But all in leadership do not agree, and there are those who are clearly not merely sympathetic to Jesus, but who also at great risk to themselves become disciples and supporters.  This is important because the Gospels teach that there are no assumptions to be made based on a social or community identity; what is truly important is just what Christ teaches in today's reading:  who are those who keep these two great commandments, understanding that they go hand in hand?  Throughout Mark's Gospel, Jesus has set out the difference between using power as a manipulative and coercive tool, and using power and authority in ways that create and practice love and compassion.  He has Himself set the example for this.  Here, in His answer to the scribe's question, Jesus sets out the correct juxtaposition of the two greatest commandments of the Law, that in effect sum up His own teachings.  First, one must love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.  Coupled with this first and greatest commandment Jesus deliberately adds a second:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  Jesus teaches us about compassion.  In Matthew's Gospel, when He sums up the Judgment that will come at the end of the age, He speaks of the separation of sheep and goats, using them as images for the ways of life that people practice.  The separation takes place on the basis of the showing of compassion, and this is the summing up Jesus presents us with in these two greatest commandments.  We note the importance of the fact that one comes first.  It is God who is arbiter of all things, and God who is love, and from whom we learn concepts of love, of justice, of truth, of mercy.  It is in this model of loving God through communion that we learn how to love neighbor, how to use discernment, how to find true righteousness that does not shrink from truth about our condition and that of our neighbor.  Let us consider how we fulfill these two great commandments, and in what order of magnitude we need to understand them.  What are we to make of Jesus' reply to the scribe?  Perhaps it is the understanding that to fully live these commands is to draw the Kingdom near to us.