There was an expression common among the Rabbis of Jesus’ time, and perhaps even now, wherein one Rabbi would ask another a question, but request the answer be given, “Standing on one foot.” Which is a Jewish way of saying, “Be brief in your answer.”
And that sort of expression may be behind the question that is raised today by the scholar of law who asks, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
Just as an aside, it is likely, that the scholar of the law is not only asking for brevity since he is in a hostile stance with Jesus. (The text says he speaks to Jesus in order to “test” him). In effect he says to Jesus, “Alright, let’s get right to the point. You’re talking a lot of new things, but what is the greatest commandment?”
But for this reflection let’s just set aside the background hostilities and allow Jesus to recite the Law standing on one foot. And in so doing, Jesus recites the traditional Jewish Shema:
שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵינוּ יְהוָה אֶחָד.
Šĕmaʿ Yisĕrāʾel Ădōnāy Ĕlōhênû Ădōnāy eḥād.
Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
The fuller text recited by Jesus is from Deuteronomy 6:
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 strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. (Deut 6:4-6)
And Jesus adds, also in common Rabbinic tradition: And the second is like it, You neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
That’s it, the whole Law, standing on one foot. The first table of the Law, (the first three Commandants): Love the Lord your God. The Second table of the Law, (Commandments 4-10), Love your neighbor.
It is said that the ancient Rabbi Hillel, being even briefer, said of the second table of the Law, Do not do unto others that which you would hate done unto yourself, and all the rest is commentary.
We like to make it more complicated, but it really isn’t.
- No other gods– If I really love God I should need separate laws that tell me I ought not put other gods, whether things or people ahead of him? No!, I want to be faithful and would never dream of being unfaithful by “sleeping with other gods” of any sort.
- I Love His Name – Neither do I need rules that tell me not to use God’s name hatefully, or in vain and empty ways. I love his Name, and just to hear it lights up my heart with love.
- I love to Praise Him – And if I love God, I do not need to be compelled by law or fear to come to Church on Sunday and worship him. I want to worship him and praise his name.
- I love my family, Church and Country – And if I love my family my Church and my country , I do not need to be told to reverence those who have lawful authority in those places. I love my parents and my family, and am willing honor, reverence and pray for them for all set in authority and honor there. I love too my Church and willingly love our leaders and pray for them. And I follow the teaching of the Church with joy, trusting that I am hearing the voice of the Lord who teaches me through the Church. And I love my country and pray for our leaders that God may uphold them and guide them. I willingly follow all just laws and work for unity based in truth and for the common good.
- And I love my neighbors, So why would I want to kill them, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually. If I love others I reverence their life and act in ways that build them up and encourage them and help them to have a richer and more abundant life rooted in the truth. I would never act recklessly to endanger any of them. Of course not, I love them.
- I Love human life – And if I love my neighbor, why would I tempt them, or exploit them sexually? If I love the human family, why would I endanger it by treating as light the great sacredness of human sexuality by which God calls us into existence? Why would I want to look at pornography or laugh at crude jokes that demean something so sacred? If I love others why would I merely want to gratify myself at the expense of others? If I love, I grow away from these unloving things.
- I love others by respecting what is rightfully theirs – And if I love others why would I wish to steal from them, harm or endanger what belongs to them or unjustly deprive them of what is rightfully theirs? Why would I want to act unjustly toward others by refusing them just wages or by giving just work for just wages? Why would I be unjust to the poor by refusing to help them when it is in my ability to help them. For if I have two coats one of them justly belongs to the poor. If I love others why would I steal or act unjustly? No, I want to help them and am glad when they are blessed. I respect what they rightfully have have and share in their joy.
- I speak the truth in love – And why would I lie to those I love? Or why would I seek to harm their reputation or gossip about them? Why would I pass on hurtful things that I don’t even know are true? And why would I fail to share the truth in love? Love rejoices in the truth, so why would I lie or suppress the truth?
- I rejoice in the good fortune of others – And if I love others why would I seek to unjustly possess what they have or resent them for what they do have? No, I love them and am happy for them. Perhaps their blessings mean that I too will be blessed.
- I reverence the families of others – And why would I ever seek to harm the marriage or family of another or resent them for the gift they have in their spouse and family? No I am happy for their blessings. I am happy that my friend has a beautiful wife and well-behaved children. Out of love I seek to encourage him to rejoice in his gifts!
So there’s a little commentary if you need it. But it all comes down to love. Love rejoices in God and wants whatever God wants. Love rejoices in the other and wants what is best for them.
Now of course love is the key. And many of us struggle to love. But God can give us a new heart, a heart that actually starts loving God, fully and freely; a heart that has a deep love, even affection, for everyone. God can do that for us. Yes, if we want it, God can do it:
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ez 36:26-27)
A thousand questions and doubts may come to mind, when we are called to love. It is true even when we love, we cannot always say yes. Love sometimes must say no, and love cannot approve everything. Love must sometimes correct and reprove. But, in the end, people know if you love them or not, and they know if you love God. And if people know of your love and experience it, it is possible to say even difficult and challenging things. Yes, in the end, our thousand questions are still answered by love.
And now we ought to stop. For, since Jesus is giving the law standing on one foot, then the preacher must also brief. You and I like to complicate things and ask lots of question. But in the end, it is simple enough: Love! And all the rest is commentary.
This song reminds us that to love God, is first to experience powerfully his love for us. One day it will finally dawn on each of us that the Lord died for us.
Law is like Mary, the Sign of the Way: Law shows the way of love.
When nothing else could help, it was love that lifted me.
Love me, love my dog. If we love God, we should love everything that belongs to Him, including his sinful children, who are your neighbours. And Love is Death or Sacrifice.
Monsignor, Thank you for this post. I was attending my Sunday Latin mass, last week and my interest in this often heard gospel passage caught my attention. My question was even more basic (like ‘doing a handstand with one arm). What word is used in the Hebrew for ‘love’. What did the scholar hear and understand from our Lord? Did Jesus speak in Hebrew to him (he was an expert on the Law) or did He use arimaic? Then what did the evangelists use for the word into greek? I ask this not to be difficult but i noticed in the latin alongside my english missal was the word: deligente. Or something to that. But the reading from St. Paul used the latin word: cariatas. Is this two diferent words for the idea of love? Is there a different understanding of love between the ‘old law’ and the new that St. Paul was proclaiming? As an aside i get kinda irritated when the word love is used for EVERYTHING. It just seems to really make this reading more difficult to hit home. Anyway, thank so much for what you do. (forgive my spelling, i cant find my latin readings).
Excellent. A manifesto that should unite all believers.The only concern I have is embellishing it’s simplicity. Item 4 references authority and Church. It may be a logical conclusion after some thought, but it’s not immediately related. We need both feet on the ground before we go there.
Although might argue that without the Church we wouldn’t have any feet on the ground since we only know what Jesus said through the Church.
In my parish, the homily for this Sunday’s Gospel was deliver
ed by our permanent deacon, who is a prosecuting attorney in “civilian” life. He had some interesting insight into the minds of Jesus’ questioners, and also in the clever loopholes we construct for ourselves with regard to these two commandments.