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Love your God. Love your neighbor.
The whole Law and the prophets depend upon these two commandments.
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In Jesus’ time, there were two major schools of thought.
Some Jews wanted to expand the Law as much as possible. They were meticulous and exceptionally detailed, so much so they created 613 rules to follow, involving everything from honoring one’s parents to the treatment of birds.
Others treated the Law like an accordion. They wanted to condense it down to its very essence.
Jesus takes this latter approach.
Collapsing the Law, he says the entirety of it – and by extension all of Christianity – can be summarized in a single word: love.
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But what exactly is love?
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It’s perhaps one of the most overused words in the English language, dulling its meaning over time.
We speak of loving the New York Jets or Giants; loving pizza parties or your friend’s new haircut.
Yet we use the same word to describe our commitment to another person in marriage, even God’s commitment to us.
So, what does Jesus mean when he says, “love”? Does God “love” us the way we love pizza?
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Love’s a bit like humility. It’s abstract; hard to define. But you know love when you see it in action. You know it when feel it. And you know it when you don’t.
Throughout the centuries, poets like Dante have tried to define love with varying degrees of success. For example, in The Divine Comedy, Dante writes, “Love is what moves the sun and the other stars.”
Nice, but a bit too abstract to me.
Shakespeare, on the other hand, got it right.
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In one of the most famous scenes from Romeo and Juliet, a young Juliet gazes down upon Romeo from her balcony and says to him:
“Romeo, the more I give to you, the more I seem to have.”
The happier Romeo was, the happier Juliet became. That’s the very essence of love: the more we give, the more we have.
Love opens our eyes to a world of “we,” not just “me.”
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Parents know this well. Think of how delighted you are when you see your children succeed. You’ll sacrifice almost anything to make their futures brighter.
Or the delight teachers experience when they teach their students how to read. Watching a child speak the story as they turn the pages of a book will warm any heart.
Or the sense of meaning we find when volunteering to help the most vulnerable among us. Knowing we made a difference in someone else’s day brightens our own.
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If Juliet is right, the more we give to anyone, the happier we become.
That’s why love fulfills the Law; it’s the force that moves the sun and the other stars. It motivates us to live in a world of “we,” not just “me.”
During this extended time of self-isolation, social distancing, and societal fragmentation, what an important reminder to all of us: the more give to others, the happier we become.
Reach out to friends online, pray for the needs of the world, thank those who serve on the front lines from medical personnel to those keeping our grocery shelves stocked.
It’s a mysterious truth, but the more we give to other people, the happier we become.
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So, what can I give this week?
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Even a smile, a wink, a word of encouragement may go a long way.
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Love your God. Love your neighbor.
The more we give, the happier we become.
