Filed under: Biblical Interpretation, Christianity, Sara Lynn Wilhelm | Tags: christian spirituality, Christianity, Sara Lynn Wilhelm, spiritual formation, spirituality
I loved Sara Wilhelm’s post, Shakespeare and Biblical Interpretation. Here’s a snapshot:
This journey of interpretation is not always an easy one, but I think Sunday night reminded me though that this work is always worth the risk …for only then do you capture the beauty of the transforming power of a text that can and still speaks to the realities of our lives in ever transformed ways.
Filed under: Christianity, Journal, Uncategorized | Tags: Henri J. M. Nouwen, househusband, spiritual disciplines, spiritual formation
Today I’m finding myself rather unemployed. I resigned from a youth pastor position at Church of the Open Door so that I could stay home with my six month old daughter and also pursue further training in spiritual direction. I gave 4 months of notice for my resignation so now that my first day at home is finally here, it feels rather unsettling. This househusband mindset is a bit of an adjustment for me….
I feel so capitalistically unproductive. And what of my budding career as a mega church youth pastor???
I’ve been telling myself that a new life is starting. Today I begin new disciplines of servanthood and contemplation. Washing diapers, dishes, and laundry are no longer just the simple tasks of the household for me. It is the new work of my hands for the benefit of our tiny intentional community and my own spiritual formation. I fully expect the washing to be an inner and outer work. Ever so slowly, even monotonously, I hope to work into my character the ways and attitudes of Jesus Christ. A friend shared this quote from Henry Nouwen recently:
I feel a burning desire to preach the Gospel, but I know in my heart that now is the time to pray, to read, to meditate, to be quiet, and to wait…. It makes no sense to preach the Gospel when I have allowed no time for my own conversion. I feel a tension within me. I have only a limited number of years left for active ministry. Why not use them well? Yet one word spoken with a pure heart is worth thousands spoken in a state of spiritual turmoil. Time given to inner renewal is never wasted. God is not in a hurry.
So today I’m letting go of personal success and narcissistic productivity. Sounds very noble and maybe idealistic, but I’m actually excited for this new season of life.
Filed under: Christianity, Missio Dei, disciplines, prayer | Tags: Christianity, Missio Dei, prayer, spirituality, The Missio Dei Breviary
Check out the free online Breviary. It’s a book of morning and evening prayers (drawing from Benedictine, Fransiscan, and Eastern Orthodox traditions) that has been put together by Missio Dei.
Filed under: Christianity, Marshall B. Roseberg, Nonviolence, Peace and Justice | Tags: Ghandi, Marshall B. Rosenberg, Nonviolence, Nonviolent Communication, Peace
As someone who is against violence in the world- whether in Iraq or Minneapolis, I’m struck at how “passively violent” (causing emotional hurt) I can be at times. I think it’s one thing to be “against the war” and its another thing to be able to share a meal with someone you “love” and show them the sort of compassion, respect, and understanding that are at the heart of nonviolence.
Let’s be honest, most of us can barely get past breakfast without getting defensive, assuming, or reacting in some way. I am finding myself challenged by realizing the connection between passive and physical violence. Arun Ghandi learned from her grandfather that “it is passive violence that fuels the fire of physical violence.”
I think that if we ourselves can’t get past breakfast, then we’ll never find a solution in Iraq. How many of us are willing to look at ourselves before pointing out the speck in someone else’s eye? In the end, it all leads to war.
One of the many things I learned from grandfather [M. K. Ghandi] is to understand the depth and breadth of nonviolence and to acknowledge that one is violent and that one needs to bring about a qualitative change in one’s attitude. We often don’t acknowledge our violence because we are ignorant about it; we assume we are not violent because our vision of violence is one of fighting, killing, beating, and wars the type of things that average individuals don’t do.
Nonviolence means allowing the positive within you to emerge. Be dominated by love, respect, understanding, appreciation, compassion and concern for others rather than self-centered and selfish, greedy, hateful, prejudiced, suspicious, and aggressive attitudes that dominate our thinking.
-Arun Ghandi
Marshall B. Rosenberg, Nonviolent Communication (California: Puddledancer Press, 2005).
Filed under: Christianity, prayers | Tags: Christianity, contemplation, Methodist Covenant Prayer, prayer, spirituality
I am no longer my own, but Thine.
Put me to what Thou wilt,
rank me with whom Thou wilt;
put me to doing, put me to suffering;
let me be employed for Thee
or laid aside for Thee;
let me be exalted for Thee,
or brought low for Thee;
let me be full, let me be empty;
let me have all things,
let me have nothing;
I freely and heartily yield all things
to Thy pleasure and disposal.And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Thou art mine, and I am Thine.
So be it.
And the covenant
which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven.Amen.
From daily meditations at the North Umbria Community.
Filed under: Capitalism, Christianity, Consumerism, Poetry, Politic, Wendell Berry, liberation | Tags: Capitalism, Christianity, Consumerism, liberation, Poetry, spirituality, wealth, Wendell Berry
Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion- put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap for power,
please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields.
Lie easy in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.
Wendell Berry, Good Poems Selected and Introduced by Garrison Keillor (New York: Penguin Group, 2002) 274.
Filed under: Christianity, Consumerism, Peace and Justice, Shane Claiborne, quotes | Tags: Christianity, Consumerism, Hermas, Jesus for President, justice, Shane Claiborne, spirituality, wealth
This one’s extremely challening and I’m going to have to sit with it for a while:
You who are God’s servants are living in a foreign country, for your own city-state is far away from this city-state. Knowing which is yours, why do you acquire fields, costly furnishings, buildings, and frail dwellings here? Anyone who acquired things for himself in this city cannot expect to find the way home to his own City. Do you not realize that all these things here do not belong to you, that they are under a power alien to your nature? The ruler will say you do not obey my laws, either observe my laws or get out of my country, Take care lest it prove fatal to you to repudiate your own laws. Acquire no more here than what is absolutely necessary. Instead of fields, buy for yourselves people in distress in accordance with your means.
-Hermas, 140 AD
Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw, Jesus For President (Michigan: Zondervan 2008 ) 146.
Filed under: Capitalism, Christianity, Consumerism, Peace and Justice, Politic, Shane Claiborne | Tags: Capitalism, Christianity, Consumerism, Jesus, Jesus for President, Shane Claiborne
Jesus is ready to set us free from the heavy yoke of an oppressive way of life. Plenty of wealthy Christians are suffocating from the weight of the American Dream, heavily burdened by the lifeless toil and consumption we embrace. This is the yoke from which we are being set free. And as we are liberated from the yoke of global capitalism, our sisters and brothers in Guatamala, Liberia, and Sri Lanka will also be liberated. Our family overseas, who are making our clothes, growing our food, pumping our oil, and assembling our electronics–they too need to be liberated from the empire’s yoke of slavery. Their liberation is tangled up with our own. The new yoke isn’t easy. (It’s a cross, for heaven’s sake.) But we carry it together, and it is good and leads us to rest, especially for the weariest traveler.
Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw, Jesus For President (Michigan: Zondervan 2008 ) 113.
Filed under: Christianity, Peace and Justice, Politic, Shane Claiborne, love | Tags: Jesus for President, Justice Revival, Shane Claiborne
Last week I attended a luncheon hosted by Shane Claiborne at the Justice Revival in Columbus, OH. He asked us to share with the people at our table about the person or experience that made us start to really care about social justice. To me, this was a brilliant question. It was obvious that there were people in the room on all sides of the political spectrum. Shane’s radical message no doubt offended some while those of us who agreed sank further into our self-righteousness indignation.
But when I reflected on the experience that I would share about, I was totally disarmed. I thought back to a trip I took to Mauritania in West Africa. One night a young mother asked my friends and I to pray for her nine month old son. He was suffering from malnutrition and parasites which made his stomach abnormally large and round. Her home of four walls and a dirt floor was dark. We gathered around her son and each placed a hand on him. We said prayers hoping to change his circumstances.
I don’t know what happened to the boy after that. I don’t know if any of his circumstances changed. But as I reflected again on this old story of mine, I realized how much that experience changed me.
At the luncheon, when it came time to share my story, my voice started trembling, I teared up, and couldn’t talk. The old story had new meaning and it began to work on me in a powerful way. Not able to finish, I had to pass on to the next person. Feeling totally disarmed by God’s love, I looked at the people in the room around me in a different light.
Working for justice isn’t about being dynamic, one step ahead of the rest, or even being “right”. It’s about people with real lives and real stories. Anything more than that is an imitation of working for justice (and something that will most likely be watered down, put in a box, and sent to the market).
I’m still reading Jesus For President and I’ll be sharing some interesting quotes later in the week.
Filed under: Christianity, Poetry, Wendell Berry, prayers | Tags: Christianity, Faith, Holy Spirit, Mysticism, Religion, spirituality, The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry, Wendell Berry
O Thou far off and near, whole and broken,
Who in necessity and bounty wait,
Whose truth is light and dark, mute though spoken,
By Thy wide grace show me Thy narrow gate
Wendell Berry, The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry (New York: Counterpoint Publishing, 1998), 107.
Filed under: Christianity, Politic | Tags: Capitalism, Consumerism, economy, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved, love, president
In recent posts and poems, I’ve been voicing my increasing frustration with consumerism and capitalism. It seems there is a system in place which takes something beautiful, waters it down, puts it in a box, and sends it to the market. This is done with religion, art, and spiritual movements. Upon reflection I couldn’t help but feel a sense of hopelessness. I worry for people who find hope in the word ‘capitalism’ and follow a president who urges his people to consume for the good of the economy.
But upon further reflection, I was led to hope. Love in its truest form cannot be marketed or consumed. You cannot buy stocks in love. You cannot buy love at the store. You cannot make money off of love. Interestingly enough I think that some of the most successful and profiting products are false immitations of love (i.e. pornography).
True love brings true hope. And our task is to identify it and bring it to light. Henri J. M. Nouwen writes in the Life of the Beloved that we are to “constantly unmask the world around us” to see it for what it truly is. In this process, it is helpful to realize that love endures and will continue to endure capitalism, consumerism, and whatever other sort of “ism” the world develops.
St. Paul asserted to the Corinthians that these three things would remain: faith, hope, and love.
Thank God.
Filed under: Christianity, Peace and Justice, Politic | Tags: Chris Haw, Jesus for President, Shane Claiborne
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I just started reading Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw’s Jesus For President. Last month I saw Shane speak at Bethel University. Expecting a dynamic and trendy speaker (he does, after all have dreadlocks), I instead found Shane to be goofy, homely and….genuine. To me, Shane’s real attraction was in his message and stories. It seems that he really does want to live like Jesus, love others, and work to change the world around him. Here’s a quote from his latest book which I think sums it up well:
This book is a project in renewing the imagination of the church in the United States and of those who would seek to know Jesus. We are seeing more and more that the church has fallen in love with the state and that this love affair is killing the church’s imagination. The powerful benefits and temptations of running the world’s larges superpower have bent the church’s identity. Having power at its fingertips, the church often finds “guiding the course of history” a more luring goal than following the crucified Christ. Too often the patriotic values of pride and strength triumph over the spiritual virtues of humility, gentleness, and sacrificial love.
Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw, Jesus For President (Michigan: Zondervan, 2008), 17.
Filed under: Christianity, Steve Wiens | Tags: Church of the Open Door, Steve Wiens
“I run in the path of your commands for you have set my heart free.” -Psalms 119:32
Last weekend, Steve Wiens preached a great sermon at Church of the Open Door on the freedom we should live in as Christians. He defines legalism as ”an attempt to place life in my control.” Steve identifies three types of legalistic Christians: Truth Defenders, Grace Addicts, and Jesus Followers. Truth Defenders do everything they can to defend thier view of God, faith, and the Bible. They are quite hostile in thier defence of thier dogma, thinking that the world rests on thier shoulders. In reaction to Truth Defenders, Grace Addicts have adopted the posture of a victim. Any church that asks anything of you is too much, any church they attend must use thier specific language about grace. Jesus Followers (the group of my most recent membership) wouldn’t stoop to call themselves ‘Christians’ for fear of being associated with either of the latter and think that thier practice of following Jesus is most similiar to the early church. Each group has simply created its own “form of legalism in exchange for another.” Steve then ties it all in to the unifying and transforming power of the Eucharist.
I was challenged and encouraged by this sermon and I highly recommend watching it!
View Steve’s sermon here.
I came across this passage in James chapter 4 today, as its parraphrased in The Message Bible. I couldn’t help but consider how it relates to Iraq, the U.S., and our idolatrous relationship with oil.
1-2Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it.
2-3You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way.
4-6You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way.
Filed under: Christianity
Have you heard of the Bible-verse-spewing-Jesus-figurene that is rocking the Christmas sales?
Just wonderful. We’ve reduced our only hope for peace, love, and joy to a GI JOE. Our Messiah has joined the ranks of Ken and Barbie.
Just a couple questions about this video….
I have a lot of interactions with people who don’t celebrate Christmas (Atheists, Agnostics, Muslims, Jews), some of whom are friends of mine, some of whom have been very hurt by the church. Why would I wish these people a ‘Merry Christmas’? I think that the words ‘Merry Christmas’ are supposed to be a blessing. Some people don’t feel blessed when they hear those words. If some people feel more blessed when we say ‘Happy Holidays’ rather than ‘Merry Christmas’, shouldn’t we be more than willing to bless them in that way? Then, even has I say the words ‘Happy Holidays’, in my heart I’m saying, ‘May the peace, love, joy, hope, and salvation of Jesus Christ be yours also”.
This year I’m going to pay close attention to celebrating Advent. I think that Advent could be a powerful tool to remind us of the real Christmas Message- Peace. Love. Joy. Messiah.
Ahhhhh, ‘peace’. As any good Evangelical, I know that ‘peace’ means calm, tranquil, quiet. Imagine the lake like glass up North. Or the loons calling at daybreak. How about a long walk in the woods just before sunset. Yes, the little baby Jesus came so that we could softly sing our Christmas Carols and watch the fireplace glow.
Wikipedia (and the rest of the world) say that ”Peace is a state of harmony, the absence of hostility. This term is applied to describe a cessation of violent international conflict; in this international context, peace is the opposite of war. Peace can also describe a relationship between any parties characterized by respect, justice, and goodwill.”
Harmony, cessation of violence, justice, and goodwill stand out to me as I reflect on Luke 2:8-15.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
”Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”
The shepherds to whome the angels appeared were poor, common, marginalized folk- possibly even children. This fascinates me. In our day, wouldn’t you think the angels would appear at the Superbowl, the Whitehouse, or on CNN? Notice that the angels in Luke chapter two didn’t appear to Caesar or King Herod. Caesar always got all the big news, this message was for E-V-E-R-Y-O-N-E.
I think that Peace is part of the Christmas message as one of God’s great dreams for mankind. But if peace is only calm, tranquil, and quiet, then we miss out on the bigger dream. And how would you understand peace differently in another person’s shoes?
Picture an Iraqi family that lives in the heart of Baghdad. Daily life feels hopeless to them as they fear suicide bomb attacks, US troop home raids, or Al Qaeda kidnappings. Survival is a part of every day. Every evening is spent listening and fearing. One night a man of great glory appears. He proclaims, “I have unbelievable news. A savior has been born for you. The violence will end. Harmony will be restored. Justice is coming. The Messiah will show us how to live. Glory to God in the highest, Peace and goodwill to all mankind!”
Picture a family in poverty stricken North Minneapolis. Five children, no health care. Thanksgiving dinner comes out of the microwave. Broken windows outpace the outdated furnace. Drug deals, prostitution, and gang violence hold the neighborhood captive. Survival is a part of every day. Sleep is interrupted by the slightest noise. One night a man of great glory appears. He proclaims, “I have unbelievable news. A savior has been born for you. The violence will end. Harmony will be restored. Justice is coming. The Messiah will show us how to live. Glory to God in the highest, Peace and goodwill to all mankind!”
Could you imagine their newfound feeling of hope when hearing those words?
Then I picture myself. I can hardly relate to the latter stories or the countless peaceless scenarios that we could come up with. My lack of peace is found in small things like getting pissed at a slow driver in front of me, arguing with people who disagree with me, anxiety, or depression. I still need the Peace of Jesus, but in a different way.
But I’m filled with empathy, compassion, and a desire to do something about the lack of Peace around me. I think that working for Peace in myself, in my neighborhood, and in the world around me is the best way to celebrate the Holidays. To me this work is the only good that could possibly come from my white middle-class American privilege. This is the Christmas message that melts away my cynicism and gives me hope for the future.
Peace to you, peace to the Middle East, peace to my Northside neighbors. And may God give us the resolve to join in proclaiming his dream for “peace on earth”.
After growing up in the suburbs, Jen and I moved into North Minneapolis almost a year ago. It’s amazing how fast your perspective can change. I grew up only being afraid of the city. Most of what I knew of it were from quick trips to a Twins game or seeing the nightly murder report on the evening news. It’s alarming to think of how detatched I was from this part of our community. There could have been a wall between us.
Part of me hesitates to write the following since I hate to reinforce people’s misconceptions, generalizations, and fear of Minneapolis. But nevertheless, the honest truth is that we have a horrific problem and we need everyone’s help.
Last night Jen and I attended a Peace Rally organized by the Peace Foundation (a North Minneapolis group working to end domestic violence in this part of the city). The event was sponsored by Sanctuary Covenant Church, Church of the Open Door, St. Phillip’s and various others.
We began the evening by stretching out our group of 1500 people along 26th Avenue all the way from Lyndale to Penn (26th Ave has a history of terrible violence). It was a great time to meet others in the community, enjoy the weather, and dream of peace on the North side. Next we rallied together under a makeshift bandshell and listen to various speakers, spoken word poetry, and watched a couple of dance groups perform.
The event began to die down and most people (adults especially) had already left, some kids started throwing water bottles into the air above the crowd. From what I saw and heard, one of the volunteer security gaurds tried to stop them and that started a fight that moved like a mob down the block.
As we rallied for peace last night, someone pulled out a gun and shot a teenager in the back (the teen is at North Memorial and is expected to survive). No suspects are in custody, no weapon has been recovered. (Read story)
It was a long walk back to our car last night. Reality set in a bit. That was the closest I have ever been to a violent crime. A teenager (13? 14? 17?) was almost killed. You could feel evil in the air. We have a big problem and a long road ahead. So brace yourself, I’m going to go on a rant…..
I feel like most people play the blame game when we talk about crime in the city. “It’s the church’s problem,” or “the governments problem” or “the police’s problem”. And many people who make these comments are so detached from the problem that they don’t even know what they’re talking about.
I think we need ownership. All of us need to own the problem.
And we need the Kingdom of God. Sometimes this can be a cop out. We say that only God can change things and then we sit and watch for it to happen. I think that adding more cops will push the crime to the suburbs (or overload the overloaded jails). I think that throwing government money at the city will make things look nice but won’t really change anything.
We need the Kingdom. If our faith doesn’t call us to action, then it’s not faith at all. Even in living on the north side, I can let myself become detached and I am as guilty as anyone else (so moving here isn’t necessarily the answer). But if you watch the news or read this story, and don’t feel the pain of the violence or get angry for justice, then I wonder if you have a pulse. So when I say that we need the Kingdom of God, I’m saying that we need a miracle. And it would be a miracle to me if we all accepted the blame for this problem and then actually did something about it. That’s when God’s Kingdom will come to North Minneapolis; it will be through you and I.
I think there are probably a lot of different and affective ways to bring the Kingdom of God to the city. So how can we own this problem together?
Do you ever feel like a scripture passage is haunting you? That’s how I feel about this “Greatest Commandment” (Mathew 22:34-40) passage posted below. I can’t get past it. I want to bring it up in every conversation. The more I think about it, the more I can’t get it out of my mind.
First of all, it seems like Jesus was being tricked. Jewish leaders were trying to get him to say something that would create division. They were looking for a reason to disagree and debate and set themselves apart from Jesus. I love that Jesus pulls out the love card (how unifying!). You cannot argue with love (even if you want to). Love God and love each other; who can disagree with that? (although, I will admit that a good debate would arise around how we “love”- but that will miss my point).
Second, I think it’s safe to say that Jesus (a rabbi) memorized and was amazingly well educated around what we consider to be the Old Testament. An incredible foundation of knowledge of the “law and the prophets”. And he claims that ALL of this hangs on loving God with everything we are AND loving each other. Jesus made love the new law.
What if all of my philosophy, theology, politics, and actions hung on this law of love? I don’t think that I give this commandment the weight that it should have in my life. I also don’t think that I’ve ever really understood it, maybe that’s why it’s hitting me so hard.
I am not trying to start a discussion with this post. I am wondering if you will let this scripture haunt you for a little while. Will you sit in this with me? I wonder how God could change us.
Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: ” ‘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.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Mathew 22:34-40 (NIV)
But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together.
Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Mathew 22:34-40 (KJV)
When the Pharisees heard how he had bested the Sadducees, they gathered their forces for an assault. One of their religion scholars spoke for them, posing a question they hoped would show him up: “Teacher, which command in God’s Law is the most important?”
Jesus said, “”Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: “Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them.”
Mathew 22:34-40 (The Message)
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Mathew 22:34-40 (ESV)
