Sermon Tone Analysis

TITLE:     Bleeding heart or helping hand? \\ \\ \\ SERMON IN A SENTENCE:   Jesus calls us to love God and to love our \\ neighbor in practical, demonstrable ways.

\\ \\ \\ SCRIPTURE:    Mark 12:28-34 \\ \\ \\ EXEGESIS:      \\ \\ CHAPTERS 11-16:  SLOWING DOWN & BROADENING OUT \\ \\ As the come nearer the end of Mark's Gospel, it "slows down and broadens \\ out..  A full one-third of (Mark's) narrative is devoted to (the last) few \\ days in Jesus' ministry; one-sixth is devoted to his last two hours" \\ (Jensen).

\\ \\ Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem begins this section (11:1-11).

Then \\ Jesus curses a barren fig tree (11:12-14) -- a thinly veiled commentary on \\ the barrenness of temple religion.

Then he cleanses the temple \\ (11:15-19).

This latter event arouses the hostility of the chief priests \\ and scribes, who set out to kill Jesus (11:18).

Mark reports a series of \\ conflicts with a host of official religionists -- chief priests, scribes \\ and elders (11:27 -- 12:12), Pharisees and Herodians (12:13-17), and \\ Sadducees (12:18-27).

\\ \\ \\ VERSES 28-34:  ONE OF THE SCRIBES CAME NEAR \\ \\ The story of the scribe asking about the first commandment is found in all \\ three Synoptics, but with significant differences.

\\ \\ -- In Matthew 22:34-40 and Luke 10:25-28, the scribe comes as an adversary \\ to test Jesus, whereas Mark presents the scribe much more favorably.

\\ \\ -- In Luke, Jesus does not answer the scribe's question directly, but \\ asks, "What is written in the law?

What do you read there?"

The scribe \\ gives the answer, essentially repeating Jesus' words as found in Mark \\ 12:30-31, but omitting the Shema as found in Mark 12:29.

\\ \\ -- In Luke, the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) follows \\ immediately after the encounter with the scribe, expanding greatly the \\ concept of neighbor.

\\ \\ \\ VERSE 28:   WHICH COMMANDMENT IS THE FIRST OF ALL? \\ \\ 28One of the scribes came near and heard them disputing with one another, \\ and seeing that he answered them well, he asked him, "Which commandment is \\ the first of all?" \\ \\ \\ Scribes appear throughout this Gospel but, except for this story, appear \\ in a negative light.

This scribe, a happy exception, comes to Jesus \\ because he sees that Jesus has answered his opponents well.

The Sadducees \\ have just tried to stump Jesus with a question about the resurrection, in \\ which they do not believe (12:18-27).

There is a good possibility that \\ this scribe is a Pharisee, and Pharisees do believe in the resurrection.

\\ If he is a Pharisee, he must be pleased to see Jesus best the Sadducees on \\ that question.

\\ \\ The scribe asks, "Which commandment is the first of all?"

There is no \\ indication that he is trying to trap Jesus.

This seems to be an honest \\ inquiry.

\\ \\ Most scholars agree that the scribe is asking, not which commandment is \\ first of many, but rather which commandment defines the core of Torah law \\ -- stands at its center -- summarizes it.

Is there one law that is the \\ key to all the laws?

Is there "some basic principle from which the whole \\ law (can) be derived?"

(Hooker, 287).

Give it to me in a nutshell!

\\ \\ Jewish law includes 613 commandments (365 prohibitions and 248 positive \\ commandments).

Scribes often focus on one, devising myriad rules to \\ define obedience to that law in every conceivable situation.

\\ \\ Coming from the other direction, scribes also try to summarize the law in \\ a few well-chosen words.

Thus Micah said, "What does the Lord require of \\ you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your \\ God?" (Micah 6:8).

Hillel said, "What you hate for yourself, do not to \\ your neighbor.

This is the whole law, the rest is commentary."

Akiba said, \\ "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

\\ \\ \\ VERSES 29-31:   YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD.AND YOUR NEIGHBOR \\ \\ 29Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the \\ Lord is one; 30you shall love (Greek: agapeseis -- agape love) the Lord \\ your God with (Greek: ex -- out of -- from) all your heart (Greek: \\ kardias), and with all your soul (Greek: psuches), and with all your mind \\ (Greek: dianoias), and with all your strength (Greek: ischuos).'

31The \\ second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

There is no \\ other commandment greater than these."

\\ \\ \\ "Hear, O Israel:  the Lord our God, the Lord is one."

Only Mark's Gospel \\ includes this verse.

This is the Shema, which means, "to hear" and comes \\ from Deut 6:4-5.

It is regularly recited in synagogue worship and daily \\ prayers, and is one of the scriptures kept in phylacteries (a small \\ container worn on one's person containing brief scriptures) and mezuzahs \\ (a similar container for the doorpost of one's house) as a constant \\ reminder.

\\ \\ In reciting the Shema, Jesus goes to the Torah -- to the core of Jewish \\ faith and practice.

His answer is no innovation.

"As a creedal summary \\ (the Shema) was and is as important to Judaism as is the Lord's Prayer or \\ the Apostles' Creed to Christianity" (Edwards, 371).

Jesus uses it to \\ introduce the commandment to love God.

The Shema is not itself a \\ commandment, but rather establishes the foundation for the commandment to \\ love God.

\\ \\ "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."

Deut 6:5 \\ speaks of loving God with one's heart, soul and might.

Jesus adds loving \\ God with one's mind.

Scribes and rabbis do, indeed, love God with their \\ minds.

They study scriptures as a prospector studies rocks for signs of \\ gold.

They cover the same ground again and again in the hope of finding a \\ new treasure.

Theirs is an intellectual approach to the scriptures.

\\ \\ To love God with heart, soul, mind and strength is to love God with all \\ that we are.

Jewish people think of the heart (kardia) as the center of \\ thought as well as feelings.

They think of the soul (psyche) as that \\ which gives a person life or breath.

It is possible that Mark adds mind \\ (dianoias) for the sake of his Greek readers, who might not associate the \\ heart with thinking.

Strength (ischuos) could refer to anything that \\ gives us power -- whether physical strength, beauty, wealth, position, \\ reputation, or talent.

\\ \\ Agape love is more a "doing" than a "feeling" word, although it involves \\ both.

Agape requires action -- requires us to demonstrate our love in \\ some practical fashion.

The person who loves God will participate in \\ worship -- will try to obey God -- will seek opportunities to serve God.

\\ An athlete who loves God might serve by witnessing to young people.

\\ God-loving fathers and mothers will raise their children in the faith.

A \\ God-loving businessperson might serve as church treasurer.

A God-loving \\ musician might serve using his~/her musical talents.

All God-loving people \\ have the opportunity to tithe.

In any event, agape love requires practical \\ expression.

\\ \\ "The second is this.

'You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The \\ scribe asked for one commandment but Jesus gives two -- binding the two \\ together with the statement "There is no other commandment greater than \\ these."

"If there is a novelty in Jesus' teaching, it consists in putting \\ the two love commandments together and making them into one commandment" \\ (Donahue & Harrington, 357).

\\ \\ The commandment to love one's neighbor is from Lev. 19:18, and would come \\ less readily to mind than the commandment to love God.

Still, it is in \\ keeping with law and prophets, both of which emphasize right relationships \\ with people as well as with God.

Jewish law goes into great detail \\ regarding our behavior in relationship to other people.

The prophets go a \\ step further, calling us to compassion and justice even in situations not \\ covered by the law.

\\ \\ Christ calls us to balance these two great commandments.

The person who \\ loves God but does not love neighbor is gravely deficient.

"Those who \\ say, 'I love God,' and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for \\ those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love \\ God whom they have not seen.

The commandment we have from him is this: \\ those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also" (1 John \\ 4:20-21).

That is tough language, given the difficulty that most of us \\ experience with particular co-workers, neighbors, family members, or \\ church members.

\\ \\ As envisioned in Leviticus, the neighbor is a fellow Jew.

However, Jesus \\ expands the definition of neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan to \\ include everyone (Luke 10:25-37).

He even asks us to love our enemies and \\ to pray for those who persecute us (Matt.

5:44; Luke 6:27-35).

\\ \\ But love for neighbor quickly degenerates into humanism or sentimentalism \\ unless grounded in love for God.

Love of God is the first commandment, \\ not the second.

Love of God is the foundation upon which all the other \\ commandments depend.

"Get the center right and the circumference will \\ come right.

Love of God will result in love of neighbor" (Luccock, 846).

\\ \\ Here again, "Love. is more than a feeling.

It finds expression in \\ concrete acts, and on a corporate level takes on the character of justice" \\ (Brueggemann, 575).

The neighbor-lover will look for practical ways to \\ demonstrate that love.

\\ \\ -- At the micro-level, that might mean keeping one's property neat -- or \\ mowing a sick neighbor's lawn -- or driving a car for Meals on Wheels.

\\ \\ -- At mid-level, it might mean contributing money to feed the hungry or \\ working with Habitat for Humanity to build housing for the homeless.

\\ \\ -- At the macro-level, it might mean influencing public policy to help \\ needy people get on their feet -- or to insure just treatment of \\ vulnerable people -- or to insure accountability of politicians, corporate \\ chieftains, and other powerful people.

\\ \\ -- At every level, it demands looking beyond one's self to see the \\ neighbor's needs and taking action to help with those needs.

\\ \\ "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

Many a sermon has been \\ preached on loving self as prerequisite to loving neighbor.

However, \\ Jesus does not advocate self-love, but simply acknowledges our natural \\ tendency to look out for Number One, asking us to extend that same kind of \\ love to others.

Of self-love, Barth says, "God will never think of \\ blowing on this fire, which is bright enough already (from Church \\ Dogmatics, as quoted in Williamson, 228).

\\ \\ Self-esteem is useful but helping others is the best way to nurture \\ respect for self.