LOVE, for the win!
And the answer, in the form of a question of course, is:
Which commandment is the greatest?

Jeopardy! By far one of the best games shows of all time! Allowing me from my living room to feel very smart. I’m never going to test that assumption by actually going on the show. That pressure to perform would be way too much.  However, again from the comfort of my chair at home, I’m very good.

Now the interchange in the Gospel between Jesus and some Pharisees seems pretty straightforward, but of course it’s not. Jesus, once again, is taking his message right to the folks who are the most threatened by his words, like it’s his job. They ask him, which commandment is the greatest?  And Jesus says:

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.

Now if this were Jeopardy! of course, there might be thousand questions to the answer LOVE.

A few examples:
What is … all you need? [John Lennon] What is … the answer? What is … a many splendored thing? What stinks? [J Giles] What … makes one-man weep, and another man sing? [Huey Lewis] What … is the universal language? What … causes only fools to rush in? [Elvis] What … will make us lay down our swords and shields down by the riverside and study war no more? [Presiding Bishop Michael Curry] What is our response to God and neighbor? [Jesus]

Beloved, what question would you ask Jesus? You know, if you got to ask one question, what would it be? I would want some indication that the things I do are on the right path. However, I’m starting to think that no matter the question I ask, the answer is always going to be
love God above all else and love my neighbor!

So, then I think that leads me to examine how we do that, how am I to love God and my neighbor!  I believe it starts with courage. The courage to move beyond the warm fuzzy feelings of love. And then the energy and the patience to live out love in thought, word and deed the love. Knowing that the only answer is LOVE. Knowing that in that in LOVE, are the keys to the kingdom, are the paths to righteousness, and the hope of the resurrection. Not an easy answer but it all there in one word.
 
All our lives then can be directed towards these 2 commandments – to love God and neighbor.  No trick questions or answers! Just the joy of loving God and loving neighbor, hopefully with more much joy than Jeopardy and getting all the right questions! 


+Rev. Alison
1060 Chandler Road, PO Box 447, Lake Oswego, OR 97034
503-636-5618