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The love that mixes
by Rev. Jonathon Maloney
Senior Pastor First Church of the Nazarene
Mark 12:28-34 defines two of the greatest commandments that Jesus defined for us. Jesus obviously was quoting scripture when he answered the scribe. He quoted Deuteronomy 6:4-6 and Leviticus 19:18.
What was most interesting about this passage is that the two loves go hand in hand. Love for God is immediately followed up with love for neighbor. A person cannot love God without loving his or her neighbor. Mark is not the only text in which we see this story. We also see this story in Luke 10 as well. Luke gives us the question: Who is my neighbor? Obviously it is answered by the story of the Good Samaritan. I believe that is what we ought to ask ourselves daily who my neighbor is.
A few weeks ago many of us were caught up in the allure of the Olympic Games. We have been watching many events and listening to spectacular stories. The allure for me has been that people from every nation have come together to compete. They come not as an Asian, European, Australian, Latin American or American, but they have come as a person to compete in the Olympic Games.
I believe that the Olympic Games teach us how to look at the world. I believe that Jesus taught us how to look at the world. He taught us to look at our neighbor that is across the sea in the same way that we look at ourselves daily. He taught us to look at all cultures with love and admiration.
Jesus not only taught us that we ought to love our neighbors across the sea, but told us to love our neighbors here in our community. He taught us that our neighbor is the people that we will come into contact with daily. A person who loves God is a loving person. This is a person who cares about the people they are with daily. They are not ones who yell or show violence toward someone. They are the ones that carry conversation, listen, help out and show affection for the people that are around them.
It was a cold winter Sunday morning in West Union, IL. I was staying at a little cabin outside of town and I was getting ready to preach a sermon in the Church of the Nazarene in that small town of 400 people. Before I went to that church to preach I had a very important breakfast date.
So I headed up the lane to this beautiful old farm. As I parked my car and got out, I took in the fresh country air. Then I went up to the door of that old farm house and knocked. I heard the words, 'come on in.' As I went into the kitchen I was met with the warmth of a lady named Jenny, aromas of food cooking and a cup of hot coffee.
I sat down and a few minutes later, my breakfast appeared in front of me. There were two sausage patties from a butchered hog, three fresh eggs, fried potatoes, and two pieces of toast. I knew that I was in for a treat. As I sat there eating Jenny began to talk. She talked about the church, neighbors, family, and friends. Then she said something that I will never forget.
She said, "Every time that I do something for someone, I feel like I am doing it for God." I realized that Jenny got what Jesus was saying in his response to the scribe. She knew what loving her neighbor was all about.
Today as you read this article I would ask you, are you loving your neighbor as yourself? I believe it is a question that everyone can ask themselves (even the author). Imagine what our community and the world could look like if we truly loved our neighbor as our self.
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