Your Neighbour and You - Part 1

10^th September 2011

Matthew 22:34-40
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"
Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

God's commandments are not arbitrary. God issues commandments because they tell us how our creator designed us to live, about how he created us to be. And Jesus singles out these two commandments because they're the greatest - the two most important commandments of all. There are only two things that really matter - God and people. And these two commandments tell us to love God and to love other people.

When we read the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, we see that each commandment is either about loving God or about loving our neighbour. That's what life is about - love. Love for God and love for our neighbours. And these are summed up in the two commandments Jesus speaks of here. As Jesus says, "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments".

The second commandment Jesus quotes, 'Love your neighbour as yourself', is from the book of Leviticus:

Leviticus 19:9-18
"'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.
"'Do not steal. "'Do not lie. "'Do not deceive one another.
"'Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
"'Do not defraud your neighbour or rob him. "'Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.
"'Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling-block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.
"'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favouritism to the great, but judge your neighbour fairly.
"'Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbour's life. I am the LORD.
"'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbour frankly so that you will not share in his guilt.
"'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbour as yourself. I am the LORD.

This is what we might call good citizenship. In all this, love is practical. It's not about how we feel; it's about what we do. It includes making sure the poor have a way to earn some kind of living, it's about not stealing, lying or defrauding people, about paying a worker's wages on time, respecting the disabled, and doing justice. But it's also about rebuking your neighbour when he does wrong, and that takes courage. And it includes not bearing a grudge, and we can sometimes find it hard to repent of a grudge when we've been sinned against.

All the specifics in this passage are examples of how to love our neighbour, but behind those examples lies the principle: love your neighbour as yourself.

We may not think much of ourselves - we know ourselves to be sinners, weak, doubting, a bit selfish, sometimes a bit thoughtless, but we love ourselves. We feed ourselves, clothe ourselves, and buy ourselves little comforts like chocolate and TVs and cars and holidays (and if we don't, we're in a bad way and should speak to our doctor). What I'm saying is: we can love ourselves despite our faults. And to love our neighbour as ourselves is to love our neighbour despite his faults.

I expect we all think of ourselves as reasonably good citizens, and I hope we keep the law as stated in Leviticus, so far as it lies in our power to do so. The bits about gleaning, for example, don't apply directly to many of us, but the principle is the same. It means, don't take everything that's yours; leave some for the poor.

That's what the Law says. But if we're Christians, we know about the grace of God. And grace goes beyond law. Next week, let's consider how we can love our neighbour as ourselves beyond the minimum requirements set out in Leviticus. We who have received grace will want to show grace to our neighbour.