Anita | Mathias Christ’s Great Golden Triad to Guide Our Actions and Decisions Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires
Andrei Rublev, The Trinity
Here’s a meditation on Matthew 22: 34-40. Do press the green button to listen.
So, an expert in the Mosaic law, a Pharisee, tests Jesus: “Teacher,
which is the greatest commandment in the law?” A mined field,
a trap, for the question implied: “And which of the 613 commands
in the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, is less important?”
And Christ’s to-the-point, simple, incisive words distil the law’s
multitudinous “thou shalls” and “thou shalt nots,” into one radiant
word from the Torah, which bathes everything in golden light. Love.
Love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all
your mind, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy. This is the great and first,
the megale and protos commandment, he says. For in worshipping God,
our souls find surrender, peace, direction, and joy. A rightness!
But we live among people. And so, Jesus gave us a second
commandment, quoting an obscure verse from Leviticus, “You shall
love your neighbour as yourself,” (he uses the koine Greek words,
agape, generous concern, and plesion, those near or close by). Or,
as Jesus puts it in his Golden Rule “In everything, do to others
what you would have them do to you” (which somehow seems
more doable!). On these two commandments, these two hinges
of love, Jesus says, all the law and the prophets hang–a quarter
of the Bible! And, indeed, our own lives and this world would
be far sweeter if we treated others as we wish to be treated. So
much dishonesty, sharp speech, and unkindness would be eliminated;
we would not sow bitter seeds, and our harvests would be blessed.
And so, a golden triangle to guide our lives and decisions: Love
God first, for He, who created this universe and you, and who
Loves you, dream-giver, dream-granter, is worthy of your love. Love
yourself, treating yourself with kindness; don’t push or berate yourself
nor neglect your physical, spiritual, or mental health. And treat
people as gently and considerately as you would wish to be treated.
This triangle is Jesus’ brilliant summary of the law and the prophets.
Love God as Jesus did, waking very early while it was still dark
to chat with his father; love yourself as Jesus loved himself, maintaining
his physical, spiritual and emotional strength through time alone, hiking
and praying in gardens, in the desert, by rivers, and on mountains. Love
people as Jesus did, sharing a plentiful meal he created from a few loaves,
cooking fish for his disciples, bringing healing through his presence,
his faith, his words. This great golden triad is a compass for our lives.
Love. Of God, of those close to us, and of our own selves. Amen.
