Good morning … Great is His faithfulness …
Psalm 63.11,1
The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord. Verse: Oh God, hear my cry.
The reading is from St. Paul's Letter to the Galatians 5:22-26; 6:1-2
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 [a]gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
St. Paul wrote a lot about the life of faith - "A walk in the Spirit comes from life in the Spirit" …
Bear and Share Burdens
6 Brethren, if a man is [a]overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
bear each others burdens, and (v. 5) says to one shall bear his own load both are true do good and do not be a burden on others …
The Gospel According to Matthew 22:35-46
35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
Jesus: How Can David Call His Descendant Lord?
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son, is He?”
They said to Him, “The Son of David.”
43 He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying:
44 ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”’?
45 If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He, his Son?” 46 And no one was able to answer Him a word, nor from that day on did anyone dare question Him anymore.
The Pharisees had 613 commandments that they found in the Scriptures, and they had no issues debating which ones were central … Our Lord, He sets forth THE FIRST AND THE SECOND, this is the grand summary of the Law …Even though the lawyer had come with nothing but malice to test the Lord, the account from St. Mark – (Mark 12:28-34), that this man is converted by Christ’s answer …
Mark 12:28-34
28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, [i]perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the [j]first commandment of all?”
29 Jesus answered him, “The [k]first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ [l]This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
32 So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. 33 And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, [m]with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
34 Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
But after that no one dared question Him.
The SECOND COMMANDMENT: “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF, more clearly understood “as being yourself” … Is said to be misinterpreted, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF”, -according to the commentary of the Orthodox Study Bible, this destroys the force of this statement … How much we love ourselves is not the standard by which Christ is calling us to love others … Instead, we are called to love our neighbor as being of the same nature as we ourselves are, as being created in God’s image and likeness just as we are … As the father’s teach, we find our true self in loving our neighbor …
Numbers 6:24-26
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord [a]lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’
In Christ love Jared W Campbell
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