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That is a very powerful poem at the start of Simon's talk, isn't it! Yes. Get out there and DO - don't just talk (or think) about doing. Love this, T-Bone: … the lawyer and every single one of us.

Hey all, this is a follow up to my previous post – I had some other ideas about Jesus’ remarks on the two great commandments in Matthew 22… after listening to Twinky’s post from her church’s streaming service – a kid, Lucas reading from James 2: 14 - 26 and Simon’s talk on faith in word and deed – I felt my other ideas were now crystalized enough to try and articulate them. By the way, thanks for that, Twinky – an incredible sermon to say the least! One of the things that really stood out was his story of a vicar who was so very busy – a homeless lady came up to him desperately pleading for help; the busy vicar kindly dismissed her - saying he was too busy but promised he would pray for her. The homeless lady then wrote a poem and gave it to the local shelter officer. What really got to me was the aloofness sometimes found in folks who are too busy in their religious duties…parts of the poem: “I was hungry and you formed a humanities group to discuss my hunger…I was sick and you knelt and thanked God for your health…I was lonely and you left me alone to pray for me…” another stunning line was what someone said to Simon after a violent encounter while Simon and others were helping some street kids in Brazil – the person said to Simon “pity cries and then goes away – but compassion stays.” great stuff – thanks again for that, Twinky – I think Simon is truly a great servant for Christ!!! So getting back to some things I thought of while drafting my previous post – about Matthew 22, Jesus summing up the law and the prophets with just two great commandments – the first is to love God (v. 37) and the second – Jesus said is LIKE the first – love your neighbor as yourself (v. 39). A word stuck out to me – “And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” It appears that Jesus is drawing some similarity between the first command love God and the second command to love your neighbor as yourself. That little word “like” conveys the idea that the two commandments have the same characteristics, qualities or importance…or they are just very similar to each other. What made it even more intriguing to me was the obvious omission of mentioning the first great commandment to love God in the epistles that I referenced in my previous post, calling attention to only the second great commandment – to love your neighbor as yourself (Rom. 13: 8, 9; Gal. 5:14; James 2:8 ). Now I don’t know what to make of that and I’m just thinking out loud here… …I’m wondering if the reason those verses focused on only the second commandment is because of the tendency we have to get so wrapped up in “our relationship with God” and our service/devotion to God we forget about our connection with others…I can still remember with crystal clarity, a major breakthrough in realizing the importance of the second command to love my neighbor as myself. It happened a few months after I left TWI and was in the early stages of shedding that prideful elitist mindset. I was in a supermarket by myself - and as I was nonchalantly doing some people watching – a thought stabbed me right in the heart – I am no better than anyone else here…I began crying and then had to stifle my emotions so I could continue shopping and check out at the register. That was just one of the many watershed moments I’ve had in casting off some cultic attitudes… …Anyway – a few passages come to mind…in the gospel of Luke, a lawyer summed up the requirements of the law exactly as Jesus had done in Matthew 22: 25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”…Luke 10: 25 – 37 ESV What I find so interesting (and self-incriminating ) in the Luke account is how Jesus exposed and rebuked the cancerous self-righteous attitude (note v.29, the lawyer “desiring to justify himself”) found in some groups who think they are totally correct or morally superior when compared to others. I am fascinated by Jesus reversing the lawyer’s original question in v. 29 “who is my neighbor?”. What I’ve garnered from some commentaries and The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia is that the prevailing opinion among Pharisees and scribes (“scribes” and “lawyers” are interchangeable in the Gospels – “Scribes had knowledge of the law and could draft legal documents contracts for marriage, divorce, loans, inheritance, mortgages, the sale of land, and the like). Every village had at least one scribe.” From Britannica: Scribes and Pharisees ) was that one’s neighbors were the righteous ones – i.e. part of their religious group. Similar to the prevailing opinion in TWI – with ideas like they’re the only group who has more of the “rightly-divided Word” than anyone else and unless you are born again and now are composed of body, soul and spirit then you are just an empty floating by…So I think it might be safe to say the lawyer more or less assumed it was up to others to prove themselves worthy enough to be his neighbor. Jesus’ reversal makes it clear that the lawyer must prove himself to be a good neighbor by tending to someone in need who has crossed his path. In a similar vein, the Sermon on the Mount stresses the importance of loving your neighbor – most notably in Matthew 5: 23, 24, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. “… Jesus more or less puts reconciliation with a brother as a higher priority over devotion and worship …and in Matthew 7: 12 where Jesus talks about the golden rule “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Notice once again how Jesus underscores the ethical principle of “love your neighbor as yourself” in the law and the prophets.

A bit maybe, but this chapter of James was discussed in my church's talk (sermon) on Sunday last. Simon, who gives the talk, definitely puts his actions into what his mouth says. The reading (by one of the children in the congregation) starts at about 39:15, and the talk is about 10 mins, less than 15, and full of challenges to line up our lives better.