Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment in the Law is (Matthew 22), and he responds thusly (quoting from the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19): “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
A couple of points here. First, Jesus is not creating a new understanding, but rather is insisting that this is what God has desired all along. It seems pretty clear in looking closely at the Ten Commandments that the first four are about how we love God, and the last six are about how we love our neighbor. This response by Jesus is the “shorthand” that guides how we work out what loving God and loving neighbor mean—and from his own faith heritage, there are pages and pages of pretty specific directions about that. The specifics don’t translate directly for us, as our world is very different than his, and his was even different from the time of Moses, a thousand years before that, which Deuteronomy and Leviticus reflect. But certainly the spirit of loving God and loving neighbor hasn’t changed.
And that leads to the second point, which the great Christ Hymn in Philippians 2 addresses. Loving God and loving neighbor DO NOT start with what I want. Loving God and loving neighbor start with having the mind of Christ. Don’t try to exploit any power you have for your own benefit, but rather serve others. Paul writes, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4)
That’s not what we are taught, is it? We are taught ALWAYS to look to our own interests, to try to get ahead, to strive to be the best, which usually means defeating someone else somehow. We are taught to hang on to what we have and not help someone else out if it might hinder ourselves. We are taught that it is important to love ourselves first and foremost (which certainly means that we shouldn’t hate ourselves), but here we are taught by Jesus that we are to love God and love neighbor. THEN we are to love ourselves. We are not to be narcissists. It is not all about “me”.
We may find that by loving God first, loving neighbor second, and loving ourselves third that we might actually end up loving ourselves more than if we do it the other way. We will find it much more fulfilling.
A mark of who we are as a follower of Jesus is to “Be Third”.
NEW TESTAMENT Philippians 2:1-11
1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8 he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
GOSPEL Matthew 5:38-42
38 ‘You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” 39 But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; 40 and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; 41 and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. 42 Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.