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Love actuallyFriday, March 4, 2005
Mark 12:28-34 "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." "Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him ... and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared asked him any more questions.
Recently at Danville Correctional Center I was privileged to officiate a wedding between two sweet people marrying in a culture (both inside the prison and out) of anger, retribution, judgment and frequent violence. The bride asked me to include several passages from Paul and Peter's letters about submission, about radically loving each other beyond ourselves. We held our wedding in a small waiting room next to the room used for "shakedowns," an uncomfortable indignity to which inmates are subjected before they can meet their visitors. During our prayers the two guests joined bride, groom and minister in a small circle. Guards watched us closely through a window in the steel door. No music, but I felt a breath of holiness in the room as the couple kissed, received their benediction and prepared to re-enter the broken world around them. Love the Lord your God with all you have, and love your neighbor as yourself. Tonight I've just returned from the Assembly Hall, where 17,000 orange Illini fans celebrated a (so-far) 29-0 season and another Big Ten championship with an endlessly entertaining Globetrotter-like team of players who never seem to stop inspiring each other. Dee Brown, who whips across the cover of this week's "Sports Illustrated," had 24 points by halftime. The players on this team take care of each other before, during and after games. They act like family. They pray together. They love each other. And tonight was a lovefest for star-struck fans and players alike. Nobody knows quite what to do at these games anymore, except clap uncontrollably, yell louder, start a stadium "wave," laugh in amazement, get giddy with joy. How great it is to be in the presence of people who have persevered through adversity, through suffering and pain, and come out the other side in love. Loving God, loving each other. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself. Thank you Jesus, for making our priorities clear. |
Jesus knew his Bible. He quotes Deuteronomy 6:4-5 for part of the "greatest commandment." No doubt his questioner expected this response. Then Jesus added something he didn't expect, culled from a long list of legislation in Leviticus (19:18). Jesus equates loving God with loving others and loving myself. No question, the greatest "law" is love.