Essential Service: For God And Believers
Summary
For Christian faith, right belief and right practice are equally important. Yet, the more that we understand of the nature of God, the more that we are inclined towards worship and service. But aren't worship and service aspects of the same response?
Introduction
Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength [...] You shall love your neighbour as yourself (Mark 12:29-31).
Two weeks ago, we looked at the first part of this creedal prayer, known as the Sh'ma (pronounced "shuh-MAH"). This prayer asserts, from its opening words, that right belief is an important aspect of Jewish and Christian faith. Yet, with no disrespect intended, our Jewish friends miss fully understanding God's true nature because of other theological commitments, even as they recite this prayer two to three times a day.
With respect of a proper definition of its key word, one, the Sh'ma provides a glimpse of the triune nature of God. In this prayer, the word translated as "one" speaks of unity rather than singularity, which thus sets the stage for the full revelation of the presence and power of Jesus Christ, as well as the Holy Spirit. This essential nature of community within the Godhead is not appreciated by everyone; but for the followers of Jesus, with 'eyes to see', this truth guides us in maintaining faith communities that are orderly, united, peaceful, and loving.
While the Sh'ma most definitely encourages right belief (i.e. "orthodoxy"), it also encourages something more, which I would like to demonstrate with a story: Commissioner Phil Needham retired in 2006, from the position of Territorial Commander for The Salvation Army in southern USA. In 1987, he wrote a book that became quite pivotal for me with respect of my early questions regarding the role of the Church in the world. That book is called Community In Mission: A Salvationist Ecclesiology.
Anyway, in the summer of 1993, Phil Needham visited the Salvation Army's conference centre at Jackson's Point, Ontario, which just happens to be a two hour drive from the city of Kingston, where I then lived and studied. When I heard of his visit, I drove the two hours so that I could invite Commissioner Needham to lunch. During that lunch, I was able to question him and debate with him and even have him sign my copy of his book, a point which pleased me greatly, and does so to this day.
My point in sharing this story is this: Why did I make the drive? Because I respected and admired this author and Church leader. Why did I buy him lunch? So that I could spend time with him and so that I could serve him with a gift. My admiration for him was expressed more fully by my obeisance. If Commissioner Needham were God, we would refer to my attitude and action as worship.
The Sh'ma does not end with encouraging right belief, but continues in promoting right service (i.e. "orthopraxis"). With regards to that right service, In summary, this creed tells us to do two things: Love God and love our neighbour. While this seems straightforward enough, Jesus' enunciation of this creedal prayer actually diverges from the accepted version.
Love My Neighbour?
You might be surprised to know that the original formulation of the Sh'ma creedal prayer was derived from such biblical passages as Deuteronomy 6:4–9; 11:13–21; and Numbers 15:37–41. However, the prayer ended with "love God". No person of faith would question the importance of loving God wholeheartedly, but combining this command with the love of all of one's neighbours is an innovation of Jesus'.
This phrase "love your neighbour as yourself" is actually found in the Old Testament, particularly in Leviticus 19:18 and 19:33–34. The problem is that, from these passages, a first century Jew would take the word "neighbour" to mean "one of your people". They would also have appreciated that this term even extended to the resident aliens among them. But Jesus clearly means everybody in his use of this word (cf. Luke 10:30-37), and that would have seemed shocking to some.
In addition, while Jesus may not have been the only one to relate the love of God and the love of neighbour — see T. Issachar, 5:2 and 7:6, as well as T. Dan, 5:3, in the ancient collection known as The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs; see also Philo of Alexandria, Special Laws, 2.15 (63) — he most certainly stands out as the only spiritual teacher to assert that the love of God is demonstrated in one's love for one's neighbours.
Why should anyone find this doctrine so surprising when the laws given to Moses clearly demonstrate their essential cohesion (Exodus 20:1-17)? Is it not true that the first four commandments, of the big 10, dictate our attitude toward God and the second six dictate our treatment of other people? The fact that these foundational commandments include both attitudes should dispose us to imagining an essential connection between loving God and loving one's neighbours.
Worship And Service
Getting back to my story, it is a natural human response to care for that which we admire and to serve those whom we respect. When directed toward God, our admiration and respect is demonstrated by our worship. But, according to Jesus' unexpected reiteration of the Sh'ma, our worship of God is necessarily linked to our service to our neighbours.
Let us not miss the essential point here, that worship and service are expressions of the same attitude and action. Consider Matthew 7:21-29:
Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord", will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?" Then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers".
Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell — and great was its fall!
Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. (Matthew 7:21-29)
We see in verse 21 that doing the will of God (i.e. "obedience") is necessary for salvation. Not everyone, apparently, who says, "Lord, Lord", is doing the will of God. Cannot "Lord, Lord" be said in prayer? or song? or in a sermon? or in the sharing of bread and juice? Jesus is here refering to those who worship God, but who do not live their lives wholeheartedly for and through him. If they truly loved and respected Jesus, they would naturally want to serve him and would jump at the chance to do something for him, something that would bring honour, praise, and glory to his name.
On the flip side of that idea, however, in verses 22-23 Jesus also highlights the equal absurdity of those who supposedly 'obey' God — even to the point of performing "deeds of power" — yet they do not really know God or actually know anything of consequence about him. If they, too, truly loved Jesus, then they would spend much more time and effort in spiritual discipline rather than self-promotion. Doing what we believe to be God's will only counts if we know God enough to know his will — "[that which is] is good and acceptable and perfect" (Rom 12:2b).
This passage is reminding us that getting the balance right, between believing and doing, is so important, says Jesus, that it is a sign of wisdom and will enable us to 'finish well' the inevitable struggles of living. Verses 24-27 record a parable used by Jesus, in which obeying God is likened to building a house on a foundation of rock, which will not fall in a storm. Building on sand is an indication of foolishness because such a house cannot weather storms.
So, there are great benefits to balancing our right beliefs about God with our right service to God. Of course, we have no question regarding the essential necessity of giving our worship to God, based on what we discover about him. But why must we then love our neighbour? The answer to this question resides in recognising that loving our neighbour is also and essential aspect of God's nature.
God Serves
I need only draw to your attention to such a passage as Psalm 103:
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits —
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord is merciful and gracious,slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities. (Psalm 103:1-5, 8-10)
Why does God not treat us as our sins deserve? why merciful and gracious towards us? why does he heal our diseases and satisfy us with good things as long as we live? /Because he wants to! Because his heart overflows with love toward his creation, and particularly you and me! (John 3:16; Psalm 31:19)
There is no explaining God's love for us, especially when you consider the depths of our fallen condition (Psalm 144:3-4; Job 7:17ff). Yet, we are his creation, and we should not be surprised that God is commited to us fully. He will not let us go, will not let us descend into ever more degraded depths of sin. Instead, God sent his Son to save us from ourselves and the consequences of our depravity, and to show us the mystery of his grace: That we will yet enjoy life abundant, if we will but believe and obey (John 14:21).
God wants us to love our neighbours because he loves our neighbours! If we love him, then we will obey him, and loving our neighbours is pretty important to God. Indeed, it is only possible insofar as we follow his example: "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19-21).
Conclusion & Response
You do well if you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (James 2:8)
James, the brother of Jesus and the first to be appointed a bishop — in James' case, responsible for the early church at Jerusalem — declares that loving our neighbour is a royal law, meaning that which is given by a king. We would not hesitate to follow the orders of a king, nor to follow a king's example. And God continues to and persists in loving his creation. This is why the one who knows and loves God, as he truly is, will naturally respond by serving God through worship and in service to his or her neighbours.
Jewish believers repeat the Sh'ma two to three times each day, believing that it is important to remind themselves of what is important to them and important to God. What do you do to remember that which you believe about God? What do you do to inspire yourself to serve God and serve your neighbour, following Jesus' example?
Since being reminded about the Sh'ma recently, I've begun incorporating it into my daily prayers, meditating on its meaning, particularly in relation to other prayers that I have memorised. You might consider starting your own daily prayers with the Sh'ma. Or even beginning each day with a prayer to God to highlight to you how you might serve your neighbours this day, and ending your day with a reflection on how you were able to accomplish this command.
Regardless of how you decide to incorporate loving God and loving your neighbour into your daily life, remember always how essential these two commandments are, to your salvation and even to God's nature!