One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, 'Which commandment is the first of all?' Jesus answered, 'The first is, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.". The second is this, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself." There is no other commandment greater than these.' (Mark 12: 28 - 31)
This is part of a longer story and I have already looked at it in a previous post. I will not repeat here what I said then but I will make a few points about this part of the story.
The first commandment is the Schema and is almost a quote from the previous passage in this series. It is almost a quote because Jesus has added the words 'and with all your mind' to it. Why?
The second commandment is from Leviticus. Apparently, given that Leviticus comes before Deuteronomy in the Torah, it would be normal for a rabbi to quote them in the reverse order. Jesus puts love of God first.
This story is about love. We should love God because God is one and this is most important. Why?
God's love is something we can rely upon. Because the motives of people are confused, love of neighbour can be a thankless task. To love is to risk your own well-being for the benefit of others, who might not appreciate the gesture.
The oneness of God means God is reliable, unlike those we are called to love. So, although the oneness of God does not necessarily point to the unity of the church, it seems unity is only possible through a reconciled church and reconciliation is dependent on the oneness of God.
Comments