Why Love?

This is the message given in the United Methodist churches of the Wheatland Parish on Sunday, February 14, 2021.  The Bible verses used are Mark 12:28-34.

            It’s Valentine’s Day.  And it’s appropriate that Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday, because for most of us, there’s nothing more essential to our Christian faith than love.

            Now of course, in our Christian context, when we talk about love we’re not talking about romantic love.  Not that there’s anything wrong with romantic love, but Jesus really did not talk much about that.  In fact, Jesus really did not talk about any kind of love very much.

            That’s surprising, don’t you think?  For all that we think of love as being what our Christian faith is all about, Jesus rarely talked about it.  In fact, our reading for today is the only time in the gospel of Mark in which Jesus is quoted as even uttering the word.

            And Jesus uses the word in a surprising context.  You know, we’ve heard this so much, that Jesus said the two most important commandments were to love God and love our neighbor, that we’ve kind of come to take it for granted.  We don’t think about it all that much.  “Well, of course the two most important things to do are to love God and love our neighbor.  That’s what our faith is all about.”  But that’s not what the people who first heard Jesus say this would’ve thought.  So let’s look at it.

            This is not something that Jesus just said out of the blue.  Jesus is talking with a bunch of Jewish religious leaders--Pharisees, Sadducees, a variety of others.  They’re trying to trick him, to trap him, to stump him, trying to do anything they can to discredit Jesus.  But of course, it does not work.  Jesus is able to answer every question, and in fact often turns the questions back on them.

            We don’t know how the others reacted, but at least one of them, a teacher of the law, had a mind that was open enough to be impressed.  So he asks Jesus a question.  And when you think about it, it’s a really good question.  “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

            It’d be a good question anyway, but remember how important the law was to the Jewish people.  They had all kinds of rules and laws they were supposed to follow.  So many, really, that it was very hard to follow them all.  So it would be helpful to know which was the most important, so you could really focus on at least following that one.

            Now, when you and I hear the word “commandment” in a religious context, a lot of us think right away about the Ten Commandments.  And people would’ve thought of that in Jesus’ time, too.  Yes, as I said, they had a lot of other rules and laws, but the Ten Commandments were considered foundational.  Following them was a given.  In fact, a lot of the other rules and laws came about as an attempt to give a more precise definition to the terms used in the Ten Commandments.

            But it’s interesting that Jesus does not cite any of the Ten Commandments in his answer.  And if we really look at the Ten Commandments, I think we can see why.  Because here’s the thing about those Ten Commandments.  This is a question I ask my confirmation students every time we study the Ten Commandments, and I don’t think any of them has ever gotten it right.  Let’s see if you do.  What one important concept, one that we consider essential to our Christian faith, is not even mentioned in the Ten Commandments?  Anybody know?

            It’s love.  Love is not mentioned in the Ten Commandments.  Not even love of God.  They say we should have no other gods.  They saw we should not worship anything or anyone but God.  But they do not say we should love God.

            The Ten Commandments do not say we should love our neighbor, either.  They do tell us we should not do certain bad things to our neighbors.  We should not kill them, for example.  We should not steal from them, we should not lie about them, and we should not be envious of them.  But they do not say we need to love them.

But Jesus does.  Listen again to what he says:   “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  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: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no commandment greater than these.”

            Jesus agreed that we should have no other gods.  He agreed that we should only worship God.  He agreed that we should respect God and honor God and serve God.  But Jesus knew that, for us to really do those things properly, we need to love God.  

            And Jesus knew it was not enough for us to just not treat our neighbors badly.  We could do that by totally ignoring them.  But Jesus wants us to do more than that.  Jesus knew that we need each other.  We need to support each other and encourage each other and be there for each other.  And the only way we can do that is to love each other.

            Now, Jesus did not just pull his statements out of the air.  They did have a basis in the Old Testament.  The part about loving God came from Deuteronomy Chapter Six.  Moses is giving the law to the people of Israel, and one of the things he says is “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.”  Jesus added to that that we should love the Lord with our minds as well.

            And we should not just skip over that addition.  Jesus did not just add that because he forgot the original commandment, nor was it a slip of the tongue or anything.  Jesus added this deliberately.  Jesus wanted us to know that it’s important to love the Lord with our minds, as well as with our hearts.  It’s important that we allow the Lord to guide our thoughts as well as our feelings.  Both our thoughts and our feelings need to work together if we’re going to truly love God the way God deserves.

            The part about loving your neighbor as yourself has a basis in the Old Testament.  It comes from Leviticus Chapter Nineteen.  God is telling Moses a bunch of things the people of Israel are supposed to obey, and among them is this:  “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

            But here’s the question we don’t ask often enough about all this:  why?  Why would Jesus say that the two most important commandments are that we love God and that we love our neighbor?  Why is it not enough that we just do what God wants us to do?  Why is it not enough that we just don’t treat our neighbors badly?  Why do we have to love God and love our neighbors?

            Well, here’s why.  Every once in a while, Wanda will ask me to do something.  And sometimes, I’ll do it right away and do it cheerfully and happily.  Other times, she’ll have to ask me several times, and I’ll do it grudgingly, making it clear that I really don’t want to.

            Now, either way, I’ve done what Wanda wanted me to do.  But which way is going to make her pleased with me?  Which way is more likely to feel love for me?  Well, it’s obvious, right?  The first of those ways shows love to Wanda.  The second does not.

            And there’s one other point.  If I do what Wanda asks right away, and I do it cheerfully and happily, I’m probably going to take the time to do it well.  If I do it grudgingly, making it clear that I don’t want to, I’m probably just going to do it to get it done.  I’ll do it as quickly as I can, and I won’t really pay attention to whether I’m doing it well or not.  I’m just doing it to get it over with.

            And in fact, there’s one more point.  If I do what Wanda asks right away, and I do it cheerfully and happily, she’s probably going to be a lot quicker to forgive me if I mess it up.  She’ll know I was doing my best, and she’ll be pleased with my effort, even if I make some mistakes.  But if I do it grudgingly, and I mess it up, she’s probably going to be upset with me.  She’ll know I did not give it my best effort, and she’ll know that’s why I did not do it right.

            The attitude I bring to the things Wanda wants me to do is, in many ways, more important than what I actually do.  And that’s how it is with God.  If we do what God wants us to do cheerfully and happily, and if we take the time to do our best--in other words, if we show love to God--God is likely to be pleased with us.  And we’ll probably do a good job of serving God.  If we do what God wants us to do grudgingly, if we make it clear that we really don’t want to, if we’re just going through the motions, God is probably not going to be as pleased.  And we’re probably not going to do a very good job of serving God.

            God wants our service.  But more than that, God wants our love.  Because, when you think about it, there’s nothing we can do for God that God could not do without us.  There’s nothing we can give God that God could not have without us.  Except for one thing.  The one thing we can give God is love.

            And the best way we can show God that we love Him is to love other people.  Because each and every person on earth was specifically created by God.  Each and every person is special and important to God.  God loves each and every person.  And when we show God that each person is special and important to us, too, when we show God that we love them, too, we are showing our love for God.

            On this Valentine’s Day, let’s renew our commitment to love.  To love God, and to love our neighbors.  It’s the one thing we can do for God.  And according to Jesus, it’s the most important thing we’ll ever do.