One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well Jesus had answered them, asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he. And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.'" And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

"From a distance, the world looks blue and green and the snow-capped mountains white. From a distance the ocean meets the stream and the eagle takes to flight. From a distance, there is harmony and it echoes through the land. It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace, it's the voice of every man. From a distance, we all have enough and no one is in need. There are no guns, no bombs, no diseases, no hungry mouths to feed. God is watching us from a distance. From a distance there is harmony and it echoes through the land. It's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves. It's the heart of every man."

Popular music assumes the role of teacher in the classic rock song "From A Distance." It informs us that the primary commandment for all of us is that God is in charge of our world, and the secondary commandment is that we should be treating each other with love. And it may be that we are not doing a very good job right now. Harmony should encase the heart of every person, harmony that conjures up hope and peace and love.

When Jesus was asked about the most important law, the first part of his answer was nothing new. It was the beginning of the Shema, that prayer which was and still is used in every synagogue service, but his second part was totally different from anything any Jewish religious leader had ever said. Jesus actually placed the love of neighbor on the same level as love of God.

Jesus intended an importance to this law that is difficult to carry through into today's world. This is one of the precepts of Christianity that we know perfectly. It is so familiar that we probably do not give it a second thought, often not thinking about how earth-shattering Jesus' statement really is. The word is "love," the same way we love ourselves, on the same level that we should love God. God is watching us as we work with that love during our lives, and perhaps God sees that love is not as strong as it should be in our behavior patterns.   

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, you are indeed watching us, and perhaps at times you do not like what you see. Help us understand that our task is to truly love you and everyone else in our world so that we can achieve true harmony. Be with us, we pray. 

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America