Scripture Scribbles: October 29, 2023

the Gospel

Mathew 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

the devotion

What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? Before His death, Jesus takes the commandments a bit further and explains, “love your neighbor as I have loved you.” As I read this Gospel, however, what strikes me is how beautifully Jesus summarizes the Ten Commandments - the first three commandments pertain to loving God with all our heart, mind, and soul, while the last seven show us how we love our neighbor as ourselves. Have I honored my parents and respected them? Have I lied about something? Have I lusted over someone other than my spouse? Have I harmed someone with my words? The examination of conscience continues forth as I ponder how I love my neighbor - those the Lord has placed in my life be it family, friend, or stranger. Being invited to deeper conversion and vulnerability, Jesus reveals to me something more difficult to look at closely. How am I loving myself? Do I see the dignity He gifts me by simply creating me? Do I know my true worth? If I did know and received this life-giving water from the eternal wellsprings of the Lord, then how might loving my neighbor as I love myself change? Loving myself requires surrendering who I think I am supposed to be and allowing the Lord to show me who He calls me to be. In this revelation, I am silenced as the Sadducees were, but for a different reason. I sit in awe with my heart, mind, and soul feeling unworthy and held simultaneously. Only through the first and greatest commandment can I live into the second, sharing the Love I receive. Where is God asking you to open up more in your life to let Him lead you to loving Him and your neighbor as yourself more fully?

Today’s devotion is written by Diana Giard