. . . As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord . . . Joshua 25:15b

Proper 25 Yr A
Love God & Your Neighbor

Hodler, Ferdinand, 1853-1918. Good Samaritan (painting, Switzerland), from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54698 [retrieved October 22, 2020].

Published date 11/23/2021

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Editor's note: During the season of Pentecost, churches that use the Revised Common Lectionary have two options. One, often called "semicontinuous" or "Track 1", provides more detail about the Old Testament stories. The other, called "complementary" or "Track 2", more closely marries the Old Testament lesson to the gospel reading.

Norman Rockwell, "The Golden Rule" (1961), mosaic at the United Nations, photographed by Timur Alexandrov. Downloaded 05092022 from Google search.

Often, Rockwell would paint himself in his pictures. He is next to the man with the white beard.

Random Ramblings on Matthew 22:34-46

This Gospel reading contains the Great Commandment, Jesus's restatement of Hebrew Bible commandments: “‘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.’”

In Leviticus 19:18 God commands, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord.” In Leviticus, God addresses relationships among the Hebrews, but Jesus expands the scope of that commandment as He emphasizes its primacy.

Jesus makes clear in the parable of the Good Samaritan, “neighbor” includes all people, even the hated Samaritans, who were formerly part of Israel but had broken off in a schism over holy places; in other words they were a renegade sect, despised as much by Jews as the Samaritans despised the Jews. The Samaritans had a religion similar to Judaism but heretical in the eyes of the Jews. So the parable is about the shunning of an injured Jew by two Jewish holy men, a priest and a Levite dedicated to service in the temple, and the kindness and generosity of a religious enemy who rejected Judaism. Jesus tells us this religious enemy is the “neighbor,” not the two holy men of the same religion as the injured victim of robbery and assault.

I am reminded of the wonderful hymn we learned as children, “He's got the whole world in his hands,” as well as "The Golden Rule" (depicted in the image).

Introduction

The Pharisees & Sadducees are at it again, challenging, confronting, hoping for a misstep. Jesus takes it all in his stride. So we are given "THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT." It's somewhat simplistic—all we have to do is love God. Oh, yes, there is a corollary: love your neighbor. So there's where the problem arises. Can we do both? I like the simplicity of the sermon4kids conclusion (see below): If we love God and we love others, we really don't have to worry about the other commandments; they will be subsumed in the first two.

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Matthew 22:34-46

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “’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.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” . . .

From sermon4kids.com: “Jesus was saying that if we could love God and love others, we would not have any trouble keeping the other commandments. ”

Scripture: October 29, 2023, Proper 25 (Pentecost 28) Year A—Track 1: Deuteronomy 34:1-12 (image); Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17 (image); Track 2: Leviticus 19:1-2,15-18 (image); Psalm 1 (image); 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 (image); and Matthew 22:34-46 (image). Illuminating the scripture, an image and audio journey.

Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Reflection:

Track 1: Where has God seemed to lead you to the edge of your “promised land” (see Deuteronomy) and then appeared to be holding you back from entering? What could this be saying about God? What effect could this have on your faith?

Track 2: What changes might come into your life as a result of taking to heart and practicing the commands of Leviticus 19:15–18? Ponder this week what it might look like never to judge unjustly, not to defer to the rich or excuse the poor, not to gain from others’ losses, neither to hate nor to avoid facing others’ failings, to seek no revenge, and to hold no grudges.

Eye Candy:
“Peace, justice, unity” (1984, painting) by Public Art Squad;
“Wooden love sign” (~2000), plaque in Thailand;
"Love and peace messages on John Lennon Wall" (late 20th, early 21st centuries), in Czech Republic

Ear Worm:
“A mighty fortress is our God”—several ways:
contemporary band (very nice listen),
virtual choir (homage to COVID times),
Canadian youth

Brain Food:
“It's love all the way” by Bob Stuhlmann;
“Growing edge” by Rick Morley;
“Heart of the matter” by Jan Richardson (includes imagery)

Parables:
“Bridge to Terabithia” (2007, PG), two children imagine a transformed world, Review;
“A single man” (2009, R), life in the sixties, Review;
“St. Vincent” (2014, PG-13), quirky story about surprising saints among us, Review

Hymn Notes: Did you know that "A mighty fortress is our God" (referenced above) was sung at the Washington National Cathedral for the Service of Prayer and Remembrance on September 4, 2001? Here's a few other things you may not know about this beautiful hymn (excerpted from the St Augustine Record).

Many of us are familiar with the stories of Martin Luther, the great reformer of the church. Luther was responsible for translating the New Testament into the language of the people. And he wrote hymns. "A mighty fortress is our God" is a hymn that Luther wrote. The paraphrase of Psalm 46 is purported to be "the greatest hymn of the greatest man in the greatest period of German history" (on Luther's tombstone).

I"ll bet you were humming it even as you read about it. Here's a fun exercise. Below is my blending of two hymns "A mighty fortress" and "Humbly I adore thee." Let me know if this presents a new feeling about "A mighty fortress."

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing.
Humbly I adore thee, verity unseen
Our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
Who thy glory hidest 'neath these shadows mean
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe
Lo, to thee surrendered, my whole heart is bowed
His craft and power are great and armed with cruel hate
my whole heart is bowed
On earth is not his equal
tranced as it beholds thee shrined within the cloud.

"A mighty fortress" words, Martin Luther (1483-1546); "Humbly I adore thee" words, Thomas Aquinas (1225?-1274).

For families: Study guide and activities, (former guide), group activity, snacks, kid video

For children: See family guide/activities (other activity); bulletin, craft

For middlers: See family guide/activities (other activity); bulletin, craft

Coloring: Matthew 22, Show the love

For youth: Re-read the gospel from Matthew. Jesus simplified the commandments. Does that make it easier to understand? Why would you say these are the greatest? If Jesus were here today, do you think He would have given different commandments? If these commandments are still valid today (and I believe they are), then what do they mean to you?

(excerpted from “The greatest commandments” of “Lesson Plans that work” from the Episcopal Church

Comments welcome.

As we continue to read the Gospel according to Matthew, we hear another of the confrontations between Jesus and the Pharisees. Last week they tried to discredit him with the people and the government; today they test his orthodoxy. Jesus answers their question in correct Jewish form and then counters with a question to them. This passage is leading toward the Christian belief that Jesus is more than a descendent of King David; he is the Son of God.

Track 1. Today we hear today the conclusion of Moses’ part of the story of God’s People. God led him to the top of the mountain to see the land that had been the goal of the journey. After Moses’ death in the wilderness, the people he led entered the Land of Promise.

Track 2. The first reading is a portion of the giving of the Law. In it, love and faithfulness toward God is to be expressed by love and care for human beings. This is the same principle that Jesus upholds in the Gospel reading.

In the second reading, Paul continues his greetings to the Thessalonian church, reminding them of his original visit to them and of his love and affection for them.

In the Eucharist, we experience the dual nature of our own existence: related to God and yet human. We are not simply living at the human level but through baptism are bearers of divinity. In the mundane elements of common food and drink, we meet God. Likewise, in our lives our human nature is permeated by God’s nature. This is the reason we can pray; this is the reason we are sent into the world to minister to others.

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Proper 25 Yr A Love God & Your Neighbor

Random Ramblings on Matthew 22:34-46

Introduction

Matthew 22:34-46

Proper 25 Yr A
Love God & Your Neighbor