St Nicholas

In Matthew 22, Jesus is asked what seems like a straightforward religious question. It may even seem like a basic trivia question. V36 asks “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” but this isn’t a trivia question.

 

It is actually at the heart of Jewish theology. Depending on which commandment is greatest will show what is most important in Jewish religious thinking. The Old Testament contains 613 commandments, traditionally counted by Jewish scholars and known as the mitzvot. These are found primarily in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, and are divided into 248 positive commandments (things to do) and 365 negative commandments (things not to do) (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy).

 

Jewish scholars enjoyed debating these types of question. If a scholar was focused on the value of human life, then they might say that commandment 6 “thou shall not kill” is the most important The Ten Commandments, recorded in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21, form the moral foundation of these laws. The first four commandments focus on duties toward God, while the remaining six govern relationships with others Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 22 however; the greatest commandments are the most simple but may also be the most challenging. First of all, we are called to love…

 

The commandments are about who we love and how we love. Our priority is to love God. We do this with all we have and all we are. V37 says to love God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. This points to our whole person, body, emotions, thoughts and actions. This is the best way to truly love our creator God Jesus then goes on to say that “loving your neighbour as yourself” is strongly connected to loving God.

 

We are not called to be the centre of our world but, we are called to love the creator and then to love those we find in our community. As you go through this week may you too be able to fully Love God and Love your Neighbour,

 

Shalom Fr Christopher

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