Two Words
Mark 12:28-34
I am growing increasingly anxious at this moment. Every day there seems to be a new eruption of violence. Every day someone spews hate and bigotry toward someone else. As Election Day draws near, the rancor simply rises. I almost need a Xanax to read my morning newspaper. I fear for all of us.
But as so often happens, comfort, hope, and direction come through Holy Scripture. A scribe and Jesus have a profound conversation where the very core of our faith as followers of Jesus rises to the fore. Jesus and the scribe agree that the very center of faith in God is no more and no less than “to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul, and all our strength; and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.” Doing so, intones Jesus, is to be very near the Kingdom of God.
Indeed.
These commandments are beautifully poetic. They come from Deuteronomy and Leviticus, respectively. They ring so true, but what to do they really mean?
First, realize that Jesus is tying together the love for God with the love for neighbor. We cannot love God if we do not love the people around us; we cannot love the people around us if we do not love God.
Jesus can tie these two loves together because he fully understands that to walk with God is to walk in alignment with the being and presence of God. The Apostle John reminds us in his first epistle that God IS love; therefore, if we want to walk with God, we will walk in love. Anything else is to be separate from God.
Second, the further truth is that we can further simplify these two commandments into one—one that is only TWO WORDS long—anyone can follow two words, right?—BE KIND.
If God is love then God is kind, and if we want to be people formed by love, we, too, should be kind. It is a lesson so simple and so basic, we teach it to our four year olds in preschool—be kind to each other, all else will become easier.
But as with so many things within the practice of faith, simple does not mean we actually do it.
As we lurch toward Election Day, I want you to consider the tenor and tone of the ads flooding all our favorite programs, blasting through robo calls, and stuffing our mailboxes. It seems that there is no limit to the rancor, denigration, and insult a politician will use simply to get elected. I want you to reflect for a moment. If someone is willing to completely vilify another human being simply to get a seat of power, what sort of decisions will follow? I can guarantee it will not be kindness.
Kindness always considers the other person—who they are, how they are, where they are—and responds with grace, mercy, and connection.
Think of how that response will effect and affect subsequent decisions.
The key to being able to practice such mindful consideration is another two-word directive—SLOW DOWN.
We live in a moment of reaction. Someone speaks or acts; someone else immediately reacts. There is a huge difference between a reaction and a response. A response requires that we actually use the wondrous gift of our brains—they are given to us as tools to guide us through life, after all. But a reaction employs no thought. We just blurt out our rage or outrage. Terrible things follow. Instead, take a breath. Think about how what you are about how what you are about to say or do is going to impact the person before you. Will it help? Will it heal? Will it build us up? Is it kind?
Reflecting thusly aligns us with love, for love is always thinking of the other before ourselves. It considers the reality of the person before us. They are loved by God, so, we, too, should love them.
In this way we see as God sees, and if we are seeing as God sees, then maybe all can go well. Maybe we can actually glimpse the Kingdom of God before us.
Maybe.
It all hinges on our ability to follow two little words.
Be kind.
I am growing increasingly anxious at this moment. Every day there seems to be a new eruption of violence. Every day someone spews hate and bigotry toward someone else. As Election Day draws near, the rancor simply rises. I almost need a Xanax to read my morning newspaper. I fear for all of us.
But as so often happens, comfort, hope, and direction come through Holy Scripture. A scribe and Jesus have a profound conversation where the very core of our faith as followers of Jesus rises to the fore. Jesus and the scribe agree that the very center of faith in God is no more and no less than “to love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our mind, all our soul, and all our strength; and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.” Doing so, intones Jesus, is to be very near the Kingdom of God.
Indeed.
These commandments are beautifully poetic. They come from Deuteronomy and Leviticus, respectively. They ring so true, but what to do they really mean?
First, realize that Jesus is tying together the love for God with the love for neighbor. We cannot love God if we do not love the people around us; we cannot love the people around us if we do not love God.
Jesus can tie these two loves together because he fully understands that to walk with God is to walk in alignment with the being and presence of God. The Apostle John reminds us in his first epistle that God IS love; therefore, if we want to walk with God, we will walk in love. Anything else is to be separate from God.
Second, the further truth is that we can further simplify these two commandments into one—one that is only TWO WORDS long—anyone can follow two words, right?—BE KIND.
If God is love then God is kind, and if we want to be people formed by love, we, too, should be kind. It is a lesson so simple and so basic, we teach it to our four year olds in preschool—be kind to each other, all else will become easier.
But as with so many things within the practice of faith, simple does not mean we actually do it.
As we lurch toward Election Day, I want you to consider the tenor and tone of the ads flooding all our favorite programs, blasting through robo calls, and stuffing our mailboxes. It seems that there is no limit to the rancor, denigration, and insult a politician will use simply to get elected. I want you to reflect for a moment. If someone is willing to completely vilify another human being simply to get a seat of power, what sort of decisions will follow? I can guarantee it will not be kindness.
Kindness always considers the other person—who they are, how they are, where they are—and responds with grace, mercy, and connection.
Think of how that response will effect and affect subsequent decisions.
The key to being able to practice such mindful consideration is another two-word directive—SLOW DOWN.
We live in a moment of reaction. Someone speaks or acts; someone else immediately reacts. There is a huge difference between a reaction and a response. A response requires that we actually use the wondrous gift of our brains—they are given to us as tools to guide us through life, after all. But a reaction employs no thought. We just blurt out our rage or outrage. Terrible things follow. Instead, take a breath. Think about how what you are about how what you are about to say or do is going to impact the person before you. Will it help? Will it heal? Will it build us up? Is it kind?
Reflecting thusly aligns us with love, for love is always thinking of the other before ourselves. It considers the reality of the person before us. They are loved by God, so, we, too, should love them.
In this way we see as God sees, and if we are seeing as God sees, then maybe all can go well. Maybe we can actually glimpse the Kingdom of God before us.
Maybe.
It all hinges on our ability to follow two little words.
Be kind.
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