On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life? What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” The scribe answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself."
Gospel of Luke
As mentioned in a previous post, Paul's letter to Timothy was written for the purpose of providing direction to the local Christian Communities of which Timothy was a part. The principal message that Paul was trying to convey was that the Good News can only be found in Christ. And Paul is willing to bear any amount of hardship in order that the Good News is shared.
Saint Paul writes in his first letter to Timothy: "This saying is sure: That Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners". In his second letter, he again re-emphasizes this point: "This saying is sure: If we have died with Him, we will also live with Him. If we endure, we will reign with Him." In both of these passages, he takes his authority from another source, maybe a hymn, or a well known profession of faith that his readers would recognize.
When Paul speaks of dying with Christ, he is referring to two things:
1. A willingness to endure all things, including physical hardship, for the sake of the good news.
2. The mystical death and rising to new life that happens at the time of baptism.
To deny Christ would mean infidelity towards Him, but according to Saint Paul, if we fail to act in faith, Christ would remain faithful to us. This faithfulness of Christ is a continual fulfillment of His mission to show us every love and mercy. In other words, Jesus is unchangeable. As with God, love and mercy are part of His very nature, and it would be impossible to deny His very nature.
This leads to the Gospel of Matthew where a Scribe asks Jesus a question.
"Which is the greatest commandment in the law? Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself."
I've recently read some alarming statistics. I'm not sure if they are completely accurate but they do make the point. During the twentieth century, throughout the world communities, over one hundred million people were killed by acts of war and violence. Currently, nations have enough built-up weapons of destruction to kill earth's population ten times over.
In the Catholic Catechism, we can find a detailed analysis of what constitutes a "just war". Many contemporary writers are now saying that because of our nations' destructive capabilities, there can be no such thing as a "just war". Any war with the capabilities of totalling destroying humanity cannot be just.
Where does the commandment of love, God's greatest commandment, God's very nature, fit in with all of this? My only answer is that peace must begin with ourselves. Our minds and hearts must be elevated to an awareness that when it comes to living out the great commandment, we no longer have a choice.
Jesus said to the scribe who answered this question about the greatest commandment: "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." Is this Kingdom of God to which Jesus is referring some mystical place in the sky, or is it a manifestation of God's very nature (love) in the hearts of men and women awakened to a new awareness of our true destiny?
Saint Paul would bear any amount of hardship in order to see that the good news was available to all who would listen. He lived by his own words. "If we have died with Him, if we have endured with Him, then we will live with Him, we will reign with Him." Are we willing to bare any hardship to discover the peace and love that exists in our hearts so that the promised Kingdom be made visible?
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