The Gospel of Mark 12:28-34 reads: One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our 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 with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, 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."
There are a lot of different questions that this text prompts for me, but perhaps the greatest question is who is our neighbor? Jesus will utilize the story of the good Samaritan to answer this question when asked in the Gospel of Luke. And here of late, I have been inviting folks to re-examine who their neighbors are. I have been asking myself in the new context in which I am now located, who my neighbor is. I know the simple answer is everyone I encounter, but it isn't just these two scriptural references that have informed that decision for me. Many a mentor has helped me to grow in my understanding of neighbors. Some of those mentors I have known quite well and personally. Others have come to me in the pages of their writings.
One such example is Karl Barth in his writing The Humanity of God. These words of Barth have shaped the understanding I now have of the scriptures:
“On the basis of the eternal will of God we have to think of EVERY HUMAN BEING, even the oddest, most villainous or miserable, as one to whom Jesus Christ is Brother and God is Father; and we have to deal with him on this assumption. If the other person knows that already, then we have to strengthen him in the knowledge. If he does no know it yet or no longer knows it, our business is to transmit this knowledge to him.”
These words continue to stretch me to this day...love my neighbor as I love my self. Put another way, love every human being as I love myself. That is a tall order! As my relationship with God grows and deepens, my relationship with others grows and deepens. The two are bound together. Today I am asking for God's eyes; to see others the way that God sees them.
Today's prayer - Holy God, give me your eyes that I may see the others of your creation the way that you do. Give me your heart Lord, that I may serve and love the way that you do. Remove those things in me that stand in the way of the fruitful living out of my faith. Use me as a vessel to reach those that are my neighbor. Not for my glory Lord, but for yours. Amen.
There are a lot of different questions that this text prompts for me, but perhaps the greatest question is who is our neighbor? Jesus will utilize the story of the good Samaritan to answer this question when asked in the Gospel of Luke. And here of late, I have been inviting folks to re-examine who their neighbors are. I have been asking myself in the new context in which I am now located, who my neighbor is. I know the simple answer is everyone I encounter, but it isn't just these two scriptural references that have informed that decision for me. Many a mentor has helped me to grow in my understanding of neighbors. Some of those mentors I have known quite well and personally. Others have come to me in the pages of their writings.
One such example is Karl Barth in his writing The Humanity of God. These words of Barth have shaped the understanding I now have of the scriptures:
“On the basis of the eternal will of God we have to think of EVERY HUMAN BEING, even the oddest, most villainous or miserable, as one to whom Jesus Christ is Brother and God is Father; and we have to deal with him on this assumption. If the other person knows that already, then we have to strengthen him in the knowledge. If he does no know it yet or no longer knows it, our business is to transmit this knowledge to him.”
These words continue to stretch me to this day...love my neighbor as I love my self. Put another way, love every human being as I love myself. That is a tall order! As my relationship with God grows and deepens, my relationship with others grows and deepens. The two are bound together. Today I am asking for God's eyes; to see others the way that God sees them.
Today's prayer - Holy God, give me your eyes that I may see the others of your creation the way that you do. Give me your heart Lord, that I may serve and love the way that you do. Remove those things in me that stand in the way of the fruitful living out of my faith. Use me as a vessel to reach those that are my neighbor. Not for my glory Lord, but for yours. Amen.
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