Leading in Love – Matthew 22:34-46

So often the religious leaders we know as the Pharisees and the Sadducees are vilified by the writers of the New Testament. They appear as hardhearted individuals who have no compassion for the people. While it is true that their leadership was harsh, I believe that under that harshness was a sincere desire to not be responsible for misleading the people.

In the light of Christ’s teaching, the teachings of the Pharisees are rigid and do not allow for any variation.  Yet, if we were to be challenged on any of the beliefs that we hold today about what God expects of us, we may also be vilified by the writers of tomorrow for the same lack of compassion.  As Presbyterians, our firm belief in the witness of Scripture has led us to take stands which have become the subject of much discussion and debate in the church and have the appearance of rigidity because we have made the deliberate choice to seek for the guidance of the Holy Spirit enlightening us as to the deeper meaning of the Scriptures that we have received.

And while we know all too well that the Scriptures are divinely inspired and not word for word from the mouth of God, there is a firm belief that the questions that we find ourselves faced with will be answered as we plumb the depth of meaning in the texts that compose the Bible.

Each generation has been faced with the challenge of how to understand their relationship to this God and the challenge of how to live a life that will honour this relationship.   Over the centuries God has sought to explain more and more of what His vision is for this life.   Subsequent generations were reminded of God’s original intention in creation but they were also given instruction in how that intention could be realized in their lives. The giving of the Ten Commandments was a pivotal moment. It encapsulated what has come to be the most basic of laws that has gone on to inform the laws of many countries in the world and has led the people of the world to a place where there is more respect for life in law if not in practice.

But there is a need for respect for life to go beyond law.  Respect for life and for persons has to be a matter of heart and not just mind.  The Pharisees and Sadducees had a respect for life but an intolerance of anything that deviated from what they understood as the life to which God had called the people to live. That intolerance was not borne of a desire to cause harm to others but rather a sincere desire to protect the people from sin and to discourage them from following a path in life that would alienate them from God.  They believed that it was their responsibility to ensure that the people lived lives that truly honoured God.  The goal was not to stifle people or cause them to become disillusioned with God. The goal was to direct the lives of the people so that in everything they said or did, they would honour God and reveal to Him that they respected the gift of life that they and everyone else had been given.

The Pharisees saw in Jesus one who appeared to not honour God as they had been taught to honour Him.  They saw in Jesus one who ignored many of their teachings concerning the Sabbath as well as their teachings relative to illness, death and life choices that contravened what they believed to be the direction God’s original commandments were leading them.  They struggled with how to reconcile what they believed of God and what Jesus was teaching.  That struggle led to many confrontations between them, times of questioning and testing.  In many ways Jesus’ answers made great sense but there remained uneasiness in the minds of the Pharisees.  They were not convinced that the teaching of Jesus was truly what God desired of the people.  They were afraid of angering God and causing the nation more distress.  The experience of the exile was still fresh in their minds.  They knew that it was the lack of attention to the laws and will of God for the people that had led to the destruction of the nation and they were afraid of it happening again.

And so, in this passage from Matthew’s gospel, we find the Pharisees seeking to test Jesus.  He is asked which is the greatest of the commandments.  His answer is one which the Pharisees cannot dispute. Jesus has put God first – first in heart, first in soul and first in mind.  He then goes on to add the second: Love your neighbour as yourself.  On these two commandments depends all the law and the prophets.

Jesus’ bold declaration challenges the Pharisees to examine how their interpretation of God’s commandments given to Moses compares when set against these two greatest commandments.  Is there justification in the law for allowing an animal to suffer because it is the Sabbath?  Is there justification in the law for passing someone by who is injured and possibly dead for fear of contamination and ritual uncleanness? Is there justification for the rejection of persons in the society because their illness or deformity has caused them to appear in a form which is grotesque or at best disturbing to the majority?   Is there justification for the rejection of persons who do not fit the pattern we believe God has set?

If we examine the passages in Scripture which speak so clearly about certain practices and manners of living that the people of God are to avoid, we discover that there is a grave concern that the people will fall into patterns of living that will be destructive to their physical and mental well-being – and ultimately their spiritual well-being.  It is precisely for these reasons that such behaviours or choices are discouraged.  Paul discourages the people from certain behaviours even when there is nothing inherently wrong with them. But they are to be conscious of how their actions may affect the spiritual health of another.  In a very real way, Paul – the Pharisee become Christian – is encouraging the people to follow the two greatest commandments.

The challenge that we face in our generation is how to practice these two greatest commandments.  The challenge that we face is loving the neighbour the way we would love ourselves. And perhaps an even greater challenge is learning how to love ourselves.  Perhaps our own sense of failing to live up to the vision of God for our life has led us to a place where we find it difficult to love who we are.   And if we find it difficult to love and accept who we are, we will undoubtedly have even more difficulty loving and accepting our neighbours.  But we need to get to that place where we can love ourselves – not in a narcissistic way but in a way that recognizes our value as a person and allows us to find peace and healing in our minds and spirits.  And when we can love ourselves we can truly begin to love our neighbour. For then we can help them to live their lives as valued persons and so find peace and healing in their lives.

Whose fault was it that the man was born blind?  Jesus said that it was neither the man’s fault nor the fault of his parents.  He was born blind so that the glory of God could be revealed through him.  And the glory of God was revealed through him – not because he was healed of his blindness but because his parents loved him in spite of his imperfection.  We may never be able to understand why we are created as we are and we may find difficulty accepting who we are and who others are; but if we are determined to accept one another in love, we will go a long way to learning what it truly means to be the people of God.