For Sunday, October 26, 2014 – Matthew 22:34-46
Today’s scripture reminds me of that principle, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” (Stephen Covey, First Things First) So much vies for our allegiance and attention. How do we know what is the main thing? Is it our family, our church, our vocation, our callings in the world? A lawyer tries to trap Jesus by asking, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” I’m glad he asked because it leads Jesus to clarify the main thing: “‘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.'” I hear the echo of Cynthia Bourgeault’s words from Tuesday’s post: “Very, very simple. It only costs everything.”
The main thing is very, very simple: to love God. It only costs everything: all our heart, all our soul, all our mind. We love God by getting to know our whole self, all the hidden caves of our hearts, souls and minds. Only with greater understanding of our most intimate, vulnerable self in all our fractured glory — each of us precious images of God’s strength revealed in and through weakness — are we able to love our neighbor, in whom we see the best and worst of ourselves. It costs us our prejudice, our fear, our religiosity, all our walls and wars—everything that keeps us from the one path, the one pursuit, the single purpose, the all.
Through which lens are we seeing life? Through the lens of the personal, we calculate what will bring the most success, the greatest protection, the most comfort and praise. Through the lens of loving God with all of who we are, we receive what we need moment by moment. We reach out to others, but we know our limits, how we can’t do all that needs to be done. It’s okay. We are not here to be God. We are here only for the main thing: to love God by learning to love ourselves and letting that love flow to others. We do not have to do all, or see all, or be all. Very, very simple. It only costs everything.
