I keep returning to love, the fundamental truth of my Christian faith. "God loves everyone" This includes people I don't like and don't agree with, with women who birth children and women who don't, with people who refer to themselves as 'they' instead of 'he' or 'she'. This includes everyone, even you, even me.
I don't intend this blog entry to be a political comment, but the politics that currently surround us is encouraging me define my faith and the actions I should take. Thus, as someone who tries to follow Jesus, I am intrigued with Jesus response in Matthew's gospel (22: 36-40) to the lawyer who asked:
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' ’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
In Mark's gospel (12: 28-34) a scribe asks the same question. Jesus' response is similar, but ends with this: "You are not far from the kingdom of God."
What more do we have to do than love God and love neighbor as self? Fr. Thomas Keating suggests:
"A new commandment characterizes the Christian faith which carries the insight of the scribe a step further. It is to love one another as Jesus has loved us….The new commandment is to accept others unconditionally: that is to say, without the least wish to change then."
Much to pray on!!
I don't intend this blog entry to be a political comment, but the politics that currently surround us is encouraging me define my faith and the actions I should take. Thus, as someone who tries to follow Jesus, I am intrigued with Jesus response in Matthew's gospel (22: 36-40) to the lawyer who asked:
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' ’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
In Mark's gospel (12: 28-34) a scribe asks the same question. Jesus' response is similar, but ends with this: "You are not far from the kingdom of God."
What more do we have to do than love God and love neighbor as self? Fr. Thomas Keating suggests:
"A new commandment characterizes the Christian faith which carries the insight of the scribe a step further. It is to love one another as Jesus has loved us….The new commandment is to accept others unconditionally: that is to say, without the least wish to change then."
Much to pray on!!
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