Love God, others, self: Matthew 22: 34-46

 Matthew 22: 34-46

A lawyer comes to test Jesus – “Which commandment is the greatest?”.

 

The books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy contain pages and pages, chapters and chapters of commandments – not just the ones we call the ‘ten commandments’, but many more besides, dealing with how to live, how to walk in God’s way, how to serve justice, what to eat, property law, rules of warfare, marriage, money..

 

How do you choose just one?

Jesus’ answer? He brings together the teaching of  many of those pages and pages of commandments into this:

“’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 neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

 

 

You shall love.. says Jesus. 

All of the commandments are meant to bring us to a point where we can be people who love. Love God with all you have, and love your neighbour as yourself.

 

But it is hard sometimes, to love. It is hard to love when we feel up against it in life, perhaps it’s especially hard to love in a time of pandemic.. there is so much else to be thinking about, and so much to worry about, and our nerves feel frayed and our hearts uncertain. 

How can we love God with all our heart, soul & mind – when we are struggling just to hold on in life?

How can we love our neighbour when we’re discouraged from mixing and we’re hidden behind masks, and trying to keep safe?

Let’s start at the end of what Jesus says ‘love your neighbour as yourself’ – love others as you love yourself – love others as if they were your very self – but first of all you need to love yourself.

We had a training half-day for ministers this week about how to lead in a time of change. It was full of good advice about helping churches deal with change: recognising people’s feelings (when we might be fearful of change..); helping people to talk and listen to each other (even when we disagree); and learning to communicate so that everyone can be aware of change and be involved in new things. Right in the middle of the morning there were questions about how ministers themselves feel about change and handle change, and live with change. 

Remember, we were told, that change is tiring – remember self-care. Sometimes we all need a break, a treat, a change of focus. We need to look after ourselves if we are going to look after other people. 

 

Years ago when I did First Aid Training I remember being taught – the first thing is to look after yourself. 

If you see someone collapsed on the ground, don’t just rush in – they might have been electrocuted, and the danger is that there could be a trailing live wire somewhere and then you might get electrocuted too – and you’re no good to anyone if you’re unconscious.

Self-care – self preservation, even - can be important.

This is true – but I think Jesus is saying something deeper here than just look after yourself so you can look after others.

 

Jesus says ‘love others as you love yourself’. 

You must first be able to look at yourself and know you are lovable, and loved and lovely, if you are to show that measure of love and acceptance to other people. 

Jesus is not just talking about self-care, and he’s certainly not talking about the sort of self-love that is selfish or narscissistic, he is talking about a love that flows through and out of a person. 

 

That love begins with God.

Jesus does not just say ‘Love God’ he says ‘Love the Lord your God’ – God is not a strange idea or an inanimate object. 

He is the Lord our God – the one who first loves us, who pours out love, who so loves the world that he sends his Son.

We gather here to worship and we remember that we are loved by God – we sit here bathed in that love – the Lord our God is here and he looks on us with love.

 

In the last few weeks of my mum’s life I visited her as much as I could, and I got into a habit I suppose of saying, just before it was time for me to leave “is there anything else you need me to do for you before I go?”. One day she answered by saying ‘No, I just want to look at you’. And we sat and looked at each other – and I remembered how much she loved me and I hope she knew how much I loved her.

 

Jesus describes that kind of love – he certainly knew that depth of love with God the Father.

God loves us – he is our Lord and our God – and as he looks on us with love we know ourselves beloved children of God.

Filled with that love we can certainly begin to love God in return – with some, if not all of our heart, soul and mind. 

We also being to learn to love ourselves. To realise that though we are not perfect we are perfectly loved.

From this knowledge of being lovable and being lovely comes the ability to love others as we love ourselves – to love freely and generously and knowing that God, who is the source of all love, is the Lord our God.

 

Which commandment is the greatest? Love. 

Live in the knowledge of the Love of God.

Love God with all your heart, soul and mind.

Love others as you love yourself.

 

Among all the things that have been cancelled because of the pandemic, in the face of concerns that many of our plans for Christmas have to be cancelled, I begin to hear more and more people say “love is not cancelled”.

Love is the greatest of the commandments.

Thanks be to God, who is love.

Amen.