In this lesson we will learn:

Transcription

1 The Commandment of Love In this lesson we will learn: the meaning of love in the Christian moral vision. Religious moral vision. Introduction: Love is... TASK: TO EXPLORE WHAT ST. PAUL HAD TO SAY ABOUT LOVE IN THE FIRST CENTURY CE. St. Paul wrote one of the best known passages on love in the New Testament. It was part of a letter written to the Christian community in Corinth in Greece. Today it is often selected by couples as one of the bible readings on their wedding day. Love is patient and kind, it is not jealous or conceited or proud. Love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable, love does not keep a record of wrongs. Love is not happy with evil but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up, and its faith, hope and patience never fail. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Talk and Write According to this passage... Love is about Love is not about Love is Love is not Reflect on what love means in our own lives at present. Am I patient? kind? truthful jealous? conceited? proud? ill-mannered? selfish? irritable? Do I keep a record of wrongs? Do I give up easily? Is it possible for any of us to live up to the ideal of love outlined by St. Paul? 122

2 The Commandment of Love Christians believe Jesus is the only one who fulfills the ideal of love. Jesus teaching on love is found in the Gospels in the New Testament. Religious Moral Vision The key features of the Christian moral vision are: The teaching of Jesus. The life of Jesus. The Teaching of Jesus Jesus was born a Jew. He was grounded in the tradition of Judaism. One day Jesus was asked which commandment of Jewish law was the most important of all. He replied; The most important one is this Love the Lord your God and love your neighbour as yourself. Mark 12:28-34 Jesus meant that the Ten Commandments and all the laws of the Jewish tradition could be summed up in one great commandment, the commandment of love. To love God and to love one s neighbour is the very foundation of Christian morality. To love God means: to make sure God comes first before all else in life. Do what God wants. To love one s neighbour means: to be concerned about the well-being of other people. Do good to others without expecting anything in return. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) to explain that a neighbour is anyone, even a stranger, or someone we don t like. The form of selfless love that Jesus spoke of is called agape (pronounced ag-a-pay). It is the highest form of love and is similar to the unconditional love God has for human beings. Unconditional means that there are no strings attached, God simply loves people for themselves. The Sermon on the Mount The basis of the Christian moral vision is love which comes from God. Jesus main teaching on morality is found in the Sermon on the Mount, in the gospel of Matthew, chapters 5 and 6. Here Jesus teaches his disciples what loving one s neighbour actually means in practice. To begin with, he said you must love all people because God loves them, that is God s way, so it must be yours. You must love everyone, not just your friends and those you like or who like you - anyone can do that. As disciples, you must go further and show goodwill toward those you don t like, including your enemies. I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:44 This means be good to those who hate you. Pray for those who hurt you. God loves everyone, Jesus followers must do so too. Jesus set very high standards, he wanted his followers to be as good as possible. Be perfect just as your Father in Heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48. Christians must try to live up to this ideal, even if they don t always reach it. From our study of the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, we learn that love is absolutely central to the Christian moral vision. 123

3 Jesus teaching his followers today Read the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Luke. Luke 6:27-36 Imagine what it was like in the first century CE when Jesus began to teach his followers to love their enemies. How did they react? What would it be like if Jesus arrived to teach the same message today? The place was crowded. Its going to be another big event by the look of it, Sam thought as he went over to join his friends. His parents looked around and found a place to sit down. Sam s father had taken a half-day off work. This is an important meeting son, he said. Sometimes you have to make the extra effort. The crowd chatted amongst themselves as they waited patiently for the meeting to begin. Then someone saw him at the door. There he is, over there, he s just arrived. The place went dead quiet. No one spoke. Jesus came in and stood among them. Today I m asking you to go one step further, he began. I want you to love your neighbour as yourself. Well I ve no problem with that, thought Sam. John s my neighbour, he lives next door and anyway, he s my best friend. We get on well most of the time. He treats me fair. I treat him fair- well, except for yesterday. What did he think he was doing, pushing me around like that in the gym? He said he was only messing, I don t think so. Nearly broke me arm. But he s ok. He came over later and we sat around and had a laugh, everything was cool after that. The voice of Jesus broke through Sam s thoughts. It s not enough just to love those who love you - like your friends or your family. Anyone can do that. I m asking you to do much more. I m asking you to love those who don t love you. I m asking you to love your enemies, people you don t like. I m asking you to love those who hurt you, who insult you, who make life hard for you. What? That can t be right! Sam was wide awake now. He can t be serious. Everyone? Like that little creep down the street who shouts abuse every chance he gets? No way! Do for others what you would like them to do for you, continued Jesus. Wait a minute, thought Sam. He s not saying treat others the way they treat you, he s asking us to go one better. He s saying treat people the way we would like them to treat us. That s way different, no easier, but different. I think he means treat everyone with respect, explained Sam s Dad on the way home. Jesus is not asking us to fall in love with everyone like the way I fell in love with your Mam. He s not even asking us to like everyone, in the way you like John for example. He s got a different kind of love in mind - it s called respect. You respect people not because they deserve it, but because that s the way God does it. Basically Jesus is asking us to treat people the same way God treats people - with respect and understanding. But that s not on Dad, said Sam. You couldn t do that to everyone. They would walk all over you. Well that s what Jesus is telling us, that s what he wants us to do. He s saying that it s not okay to hate our enemies, we have to love and respect them. Treat everyone proper, even if we think some of them don t deserve it. Don t know if I m up to that Dad, are you? asked Sam. I don t know son, I just don t know, he replied thoughtfully. Tell you what, you go on home with your mother. I ll be along later, I ll try to figure this out for myself a bit more. 124

4 Love your enemies. Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko spoke out about widespread injustices in his native Poland in the 1980 s. The government at the time believed this popular Catholic priest was a threat to law and order. Soldiers were sent to spy on him around the clock. He frequently took bowls of hot soup out to them as they stood shivering in the cold outside his home. In 1984 Fr. Popieluszko was kidnapped by the secret police, beaten, and thrown to his death into a dam. The Life of Jesus Jesus taught his followers the right way to live. Yet he did more than simply use words to get his message across, he taught by word and by example. Jesus used his own life to show people how to love as God loves. When Jesus saw people in need, he felt a deep sympathy and compassion for them and always did something to help. He helped the son of a widow in the village of Nain because he felt pity for her. Luke 7: He fed a large crowd who were hungry and thirsty after spending the whole day listening to his teaching. Mark 8: 1-10 He was friendly to people that nobody liked because he was touched by their loneliness and isolation. Luke 19: 1-10 He performed a miracle at a wedding feast in Cana because he felt pity for the family when the good wine ran out. John 2: 1-12 He healed the ear of a slave when it was cut during a struggle. Luke 22: He showed the greatest love of all when he gave his life and died on the cross to save the world from sin. John 3: 16 Why should people behave in a loving way towards each other? Christians believe they should follow the teaching of Jesus who knew the true nature of God. Out of love God created the world and everything in it. God loves people, so people should respond by loving each other. We love because God first loved us. 1 John:7-21 Christians believe that as God loved first, they should repay Him by doing their best to love others. 125

5 In the life and teaching of Jesus, Christians can see God at work in the world. Christians respond to the person of Jesus. They see him as the model of the person they ought to be. They follow his example and try to live as he did, full of love and care for everyone. The life and teaching of Jesus is central to the Christian moral vision. Following Jesus and living in a relationship with him is the basis of the Christian moral life. In Christianity, being a moral person is a lot more than obeying rules and regulations. It means following the example of Jesus by living a life based on love. When Christians have to make a moral decision, they look to: the life and teaching of Jesus. the teaching of their Church. their own conscience. Knowledge Questions 1. What are the two key features of the Christian moral vision? 2. What did Jesus say is the greatest Commandment of all? 3. How do Christians show their love of God? 4. What do Christians think love your neighbour means? 5. State one important lesson Jesus taught his followers in the Sermon on the Mount. 6. In the imaginary version of the Sermon on the Mount: a. What was easy for Sam to accept about Jesus teaching? b. What was harder for him to accept about Jesus teaching? 7. How did Jesus live his life while he was on Earth? 8. How can Christians follow Jesus example in the way they live their lives today? Understanding Questions 1. What does Jesus teach about: a. love of God? b. love of your neighbour? 2. How is... a. the teaching of Jesus. b. the life of Jesus.... central to the moral vision of Christians today? 3. Is it possible to live up to Jesus ideal of love your enemies? Explain. 4. Mother Teresa once said Christianity = Love. Explain what you think she meant by this equation. 126