First Blog - Core Concept

[Kevin Hoag]

This is my first blog post, so it seems appropriate to start off with my recent questions regarding the concept at the core of my faith and understanding of Christianity.

The Bible is a complicated book, and the church throughout the ages has found much upon which to disagree. While there is nothing that I or anyone else can say that will eliminate all of the disagreements, I can be emphatic about Jesus’ own central teaching. When asked for the greatest command, Jesus’ response was that the greatest command is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart and soul and strength and mind, and that the second is like it – to love our neighbors as ourselves. He went on to say that these two commands encompass the entire law and the prophets.

That’s it. While humankind has spent century upon century writing commentary and preaching sermons, and debating the fine points, the core of the gospel continues to reside in these two commands: to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Each of us who claims the Christian faith as our own must start here. We could spend the rest of our lives working out these commands in our lives without studying anything further, and we would be the better for it. As a matter of fact, much of what has damaged the church and distorted its teachings through the ages has been the direct result of moving too quickly to other topics, before we have gotten the core right. Instead of having a new sermon text each week the church would do well to say there will be no new texts until we learn this one. Most churches would never study another thing. Alright, I understand that this might not be practical. Or is it just too uncomfortable?

So, if we claim the Christian faith we now have a question worth a lifetime of reflection. What does it really mean to love God with all of my heart, strength, soul, and mind? It is this question that forms the basis for my relationship to God, and my prayer and worship life. While I work with this question in my life I must also work with the question, what does it really mean to love my neighbor as myself? And I must work this question from both ends – what does it mean to love myself? And what does it mean to love my neighbor as myself? Each day when I get on the bus and ride to work I need to look at all of the other passengers and ask, what does it really mean to love each of these people as myself? For those of us who drive the same question applies – what does it really mean to love the person in that other car who just flipped us off, or the one who we are determined not to let in when her or his lane is ending? What does it mean to love the people of Iraq? What did it mean to love Saddam Hussein? What does it mean to love the “welfare queen”? What does it mean to love the children of the inner city? What does it mean to love the elderly? What does it mean to love those who have chosen a family structure that makes us uncomfortable? What does it mean to love the AIDS victim? What does it mean to love the Islamic fundamentalist? Even the one who threatens the lives of my family and those I can easily choose to love? Dare I ask, what does it mean to love Osama bin Laden? He too is my neighbor. What does it mean to love each of these and all of the others?

These are difficult questions – difficult to answer, but difficult first for us to acknowledge our responsibility to address them. It is much easier to find practical reasons to avoid them or rationalize them away. But if we profess the faith of Christianity the teachings are clear. Let no one treat the profession of Christian faith lightly. The church has too often soft-pedaled. After all, these are life-changing questions, and if we treat them seriously, the church may very well find a lot of empty seats on Sunday mornings! Of course the message of Christianity also emphasizes the grace of God, sufficient in all of our weakness. But we cannot use the grace of God to negate the command to love.

[linda beckman]

Impressive some years ago went to LBI and now attend classes at Mount Carmel enjoying some
fine scholors I am at a time in my life I can enjoy teaching sunday school and participate in
Praise & Worship this sight is so exciting I think I will love the social neetworking also.Thank you
for the time and burst of enegy that comes through your love of the Lord & scripture.

[Kevin Hoag]

Wow! I love this site already. One blog post, three great responses. Thank you all for taking the time to read and respond to my post. What a great way to enter into community with folks I would not otherwise have met, and what a great way to study and learn from one another.

Thank you,
Kevin

[carol goulet]

The picking apart of the 'differences' found in scripture has always bugged me. i have finally come to an understanding and it has been through a study affered by Augsburg Fortress as part of the foundation series with the Book "Faith Studies" the study called "Making sense of Scripture"
is really cool. It is in the format of a conversation at the kitchen table over coffee. The part (and I'm only up to chapter 4) that hit me even though I had heard it before was the writers were each talking to a different aundience emphasizing what they had experienced and wanted to share. Like Matthew was speaking to Jewish Believers or that John was trying to get accross the point that Jesus was the son of God the true passover lamb. One example they use is the story of cleansing the temple, all the gospels but John put it at the end of Jesus' life, John puts it in chapter 2 because he wants us, as he says in 20:29-30, to know that though there are many other signs and wonders but he was writing these down to us with a purpose that we might believe Jesus is the Christ. The details and order of things were not as important as the message that this gospel was written to give us. There are thousands of pages written to justify or explain away what people see as differences in the bible. In that we lose track of the message. As you said that we love God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves. That is Gods message throughout scripture and when we get stuck in picking it apart we tend to lose that.
Carol

[bruce metcalf]

WOW!!! if this was your first ,I can't wait to read your next !!!! I fully agree that we don't study or practise the "11 th commandment" nearly enough !!! We us a 3 yr lectionary to teach the Bible but forget as you said we need to understand the basic's before we can move on !! WE go to our synod's Lay school and have learned more in 1 year then a life of sermons!!as a sundayschool teacher I have worked to insure our youth understand more of the basic's so hopefully the well be more knowledgeable adults

bruce metcalf