“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12:31
We’ve been talking about the Law a lot this week and today is no different. Today, Jesus is questioned by a scribe about the greatest of all the commandments. He cleverly reframes the question with his answer and concisely sums up all ten into a top two, even though He was only asked for one. First, we should love the true God above all else, which is an ancient Israelite saying called the shema, “Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” And then He adds, we should love our neighbor as ourselves. Do you see the cross? Vertically, we love God. Horizontally, we love our neighbor.
Practically, what does that look like? During Lent we are called to three things; prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. These are hands-on tools that embody Jesus’ teaching. In prayer, we are invited to allow God to be the one thing that is most important. In fasting, we let go of things that keep us separated from God and draw our attention to the worship of this world. In almsgiving we love our neighbor by our gift.
If God is truly the most important person in our lives, we will want to spend time with Him, talking, listening, and just being in His presence. Is He really most important in your life and have you truly given everything over to Him? It’s one thing to say you have, but do your actions show it too?
How can we show our deep love for Him? This is where Jesus’ answer to the scribe takes a turn. The Israelites knew the command to love God above all else, but they weren’t always good about putting that love into action outside of worship. Jesus says love your neighbor as yourself. That’s putting legs on this belief. If you love someone, you start to love what they love. Even if you don’t care for it at first, if you try, you begin to slowly appreciate it more and grow to like it.
Well, if He wants us to love our neighbor, that means everyone, because He doesn’t discriminate and choose only those most worthy for His love. We have to stretch ourselves to love the ones we may see as different or difficult. Because Jesus doesn’t just say love your neighbor, but love your neighbor as yourself. And even though we may not have the best self love sometimes, we do tend to make sure we take care of ourselves. For example, if you can make sure that you don’t go hungry each day, how can you make sure others are fed as well? Again, Jesus is inviting us to step outside of our selfishness and into self-gift for others.
Reflection Questions: Is Jesus Lord of everything in your life? What areas are you still keeping locked away and why? How can you start to love others with the same care you give yourself?
Prayer: Jesus, You make these two commandments sound so simple. Love God and love my neighbor. But practically, they are not always that easy. I desire to love You wholeheartedly but sometimes that means giving up things that I don’t want to and putting Your will first. And you want me to love others, but sometimes I don’t even like them. Help me to love them through You, because on my own, I struggle. Amen.