The Greatest Commandment (Times Two)
A Sermon Delivered by The Rev. John D. Painter at Centenary United Methodist Church Metuchen, New Jersey October 26, 2008 Text: Matthew 22:34-46
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them this question: “What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” He said to them, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying,
‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet”’?
If David thus calls him Lord, how can he be his son?” No one was able to give him an answer, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions. —Matthew 22:34-46, NRSV
Here come the Pharisees again, taking one more shot at Jesus; trying to stump him before the crowds. One last time, they confront him with a question. They don’t really want to know the answer; you see, they just want to get Jesus in trouble.
This time a lawyer raises the question: “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Now that might be a huge challenge. You see, we’re used to thinking of ten commandments. But the Pharisees counted 613 commandments. For every one of the ten we’re familiar with—and especially the commandment about the Sabbath—they were many, many other commandments that offered further interpretation. So, over the centuries, the tradition of 613 commandments emerged.
That’s why the Pharisees’ question of Jesus was not so simple. How could anyone, even a great teacher like Jesus, penetrate to the core of the commandments and select the one that was the greatest of all? It would be impossible! So, the “lawyer” approached Jesus with his not-so-innocent question: “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” (We can imagine the other Pharisees standing around, nudging each other, and whispering, “Huh! Let’s see him answer that one if he thinks he’s so smart!”)
And he does. In fact, he gave them a simple answer that stunned them and left them speechless. It’s the last time they dare to challenge him; from now on, they just accelerate the plot to do Jesus in.
What’s his answer? Jesus reaches back into the ancient tradition, back into Deuteronomy and Leviticus, and responds, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest commandment” (see Deuteronomy 6:5). But before the lawyer could frame a follow up question, Jesus continues: “And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
There you have it. That settles that. Not 613 commandments, not 10 commandments, but two—two great commandments that sum up and support the whole teaching of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Jesus’ reply is as brilliant as it is simple. Even if the Pharisees recognize the obscure saying from Leviticus 19:18, it is doubtful that they are willing to elevate it to the status of a commandment, much less put it on par with the “great commandment.” And yet, once spoken—once clearly understood—its truth is inescapable. Jesus’ genius is not that he created new doctrines that wowed the people, nor is it his ability to tell engaging parables. Jesus’ genius is his clarity of vision—his ability to distill Israel’s often convoluted religious life down to its core essence. With breathtaking clarity, Jesus is able to simplify the complex. We might say that he, more than all others, was able to “see the forest for the trees.”
Nowhere is this clarity seen more plainly than in his response to the lawyer’s question. Unless a person is really paying attention, it’s easy to read right over that kernel of truth Jesus quotes from Leviticus, coming as it does in the midst of a plodding, complicated discussion of how to properly offer sacrifices; the way to harvest a vineyard; what wages to pay your servants; or, how to choose an appropriate bed partner. The admonition even comes at the tail end of a single verse—in a subordinate clause, no less: “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 19:18). Yet, Jesus saw that this insignificant-sounding pearl of wisdom supported the teachings of Torah and the prophets.
It is not enough to love God. Loving God does not give us a free pass to hate our brother, sister, or neighbor—because God is in our brother, sister, and neighbor. The image of God is in each one of us. If we take the incarnation of Jesus Christ seriously, we affirm that to understand the fullness of God, we embrace and love our humanity. We cannot fully embrace and love our humanity unless we know the One who made us and who put the image of God within us.
We cannot love God with our whole heart, soul, strength, and might if we do not love our neighbor. It would be like saying, “I love the poet T. S. Eliot; I just hate all his poems.” If Eliot’s soul is poured out in his poetry, how much more of God’s Spirit do we find in the works of God’s hands? The truth of Jesus’ pronouncement strikes as all true epiphanies do—how could we have failed to see it before?
The great Russian author Dostoyevsky tells of a woman—an evangelist—who traveled around Russia telling people about the love of God. She was captured by God’s love for her, and went on a mission to tell others about Jesus. But she had a problem: she could never be in the same room with another person for very long without becoming annoyed and disgusted. Others were always doing something that offended her: one woman had a shrill, ear-piercing laugh, and that drove the evangelist up the wall; then there was a man who slurped his soup, and she just couldn’t tolerate that; there was a fellow whose obnoxious snoring turned her off. She wanted to tell them all about Jesus, but she couldn’t get next to them, couldn’t love them as they were. They just drove her crazy!
Dostoyevsky’s comment was simply this: “Although she loved God in general, she couldn’t stand human beings in particular.”
That reminds me of the characters in the Peanuts comic strip who once said it this way: “I love humanity; it’s people I can’t stand!”
When I was young, I had the great good fortune of having a pastor who understood that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was all about love. We would frequently sing a delightful song: “Love, love, love, love, the gospel in a word is love; love your neighbor as your brother (sister); love, love, love; love, love, love.” As a young person, to know that God is all about love was a great comfort.
As I’ve grown older, however, I’ve discovered that Jesus’ commandment to love does not bring me quite as much comfort as it once did. In fact, at times it makes me decidedly uncomfortable. It’s one thing to know that God loves us unconditionally; it is quite another to realize that, in the final judgment, our ability to love others is the ultimate barometer of how we love Jesus. Jesus doesn’t seem to care much whether our theology is sufficiently up to snuff, or that we attend church every Sunday. No, what Jesus seems to really care about is whether we have seen the image of God in the least of our sisters and brothers, and have loved them as such. When I see a homeless man sleeping on a park bench, or a destitute woman seeking warmth over sidewalk subway grates, do I see Christ, or do I see something less? And in so doing, do I become something less? That’s what I mean about Jesus’ commandment to love my neighbor as I love myself making me uncomfortable in my more mature years.
But there is more. Jesus’ radical call to love does not end with my impoverished or homeless neighbor. Jesus calls me to love and see the divine image even in my enemies. In terms of worldly logic, this makes no sense whatsoever. It just seems foolish to try to love your enemies— enemies who may hate you or even want to kill you. But in terms of the soul, Jesus’ call to love is the only thing that does make sense—it really is all or nothing. Saint Paul can say that in the divine wrap up, “God will be all in all” because God is all in all. If we cannot see God in all things and in all persons, then we fail to perceive God. We may see beauty, power, and majesty, but it will not be God. If God is in our enemies, how can we not love them?
The Great Hunger is the story of an anti-social newcomer who moved into a rural community. This ornery fellow put up a fence around his property, and posted “No Trespassing” signs to keep visitors out and warn possible intruders. He also put a large, fierce attack dog on his side of the fence.
On a fall day the next-door neighbor’s little girl crawled under the fence. She just wanted to pet the dog, but the beast grasped her by the throat and killed her.
The community was enraged. They ostracized that unfriendly neighbor. No one spoke to him. Clerks in stores refused to wait on him. In the spring, no one would sell him seed to plant his fields. The fellow was left destitute, with no way to provide himself a living.
One day, in his despair, he looked out and noticed someone planting seed in his field. He rushed out to see who it was, and was shocked to discover it was the little girl’s father. “Why are you, of all people, doing this?” the incredulous grouch asked.
The grieving father replied, “I am doing it to keep God alive in me.”
That’s why we love, my friends—to keep God alive in us. To practice loving a little bit like God has first loved us. To rekindle and renew the spark of God’s love within us.
We love, because God has first loved us. God is Love. So, when we practice Christ-like love for others, we are also drawn closer to God!
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PRAYER
Loving God, we look to you for answers to life’s most perplexing questions. We wonder why evil so often triumphs and why goodness so often goes unrewarded. We wonder why people do evil deeds and claim to do them in your name. We wonder why it is so difficult to know your will and so easy to break your commandments.
Your son, Jesus, told us that he is the way, the truth, and the life. As Jesus’ disciples, we believe that. Remind us today that we can follow Jesus best by loving you and loving our neighbor. Amen.
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