Today’s scripture reading at Sacred Space is from Matthew 5:17-19:
Jesus said to the crowds, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
As I ponder this, I recall Jesus instructions in Luke 10 given to a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus responds with the story of the Good Samaritan.
But I am thinking specifically of how people break or fulfill this succinct commandment and teach others to break or fulfill the law. How have I been taught to do less than love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my strength, and with all my mind and my neighbor as myself?
Sometimes children are taught by their parents that there is some inherent flaw in the family. When that happens, children are instructed to love the Lord, but without hope that they could experience being loved by God. Sometimes the sins of the fathers are so great that the mothers works overtime to hide those sins, believing that men are the only truly human persons in the family and if the men are known as flawed, then the entire family is damaged.
Of course, none of these motivations would be stated out loud. That is part of the crazy-making within families who are working to hide flagrant trespasses against those outside and often within the family itself.
I wonder, where did you learn love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself? In other words, who models and teaches you how to be free to love God?
Jesus said to the crowds, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
As I ponder this, I recall Jesus instructions in Luke 10 given to a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ he said, ‘what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ He said to him, ‘What is written in the law? What do you read there?’ He answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And he said to him, ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’
But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus responds with the story of the Good Samaritan.
But I am thinking specifically of how people break or fulfill this succinct commandment and teach others to break or fulfill the law. How have I been taught to do less than love the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my strength, and with all my mind and my neighbor as myself?
Sometimes children are taught by their parents that there is some inherent flaw in the family. When that happens, children are instructed to love the Lord, but without hope that they could experience being loved by God. Sometimes the sins of the fathers are so great that the mothers works overtime to hide those sins, believing that men are the only truly human persons in the family and if the men are known as flawed, then the entire family is damaged.
Of course, none of these motivations would be stated out loud. That is part of the crazy-making within families who are working to hide flagrant trespasses against those outside and often within the family itself.
I wonder, where did you learn love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself? In other words, who models and teaches you how to be free to love God?
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