A friend pointed me to this. What is the most important of our brief? Matthew 22:36-40
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
There are different translations:
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
“Teacher, what is the most important commandment in the Law?” Jesus answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is the first and most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, “Love others as much as you love yourself.” All the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets are based on these two commandments.
Common English Bible (CEB)
“Teacher, what is the greatest commandment in the Law?” He replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: You must love your neighbor as you love yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
New International Reader’s Version (NIRV)
“Teacher,” he asked, “which is the most important commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind.’ (Deuteronomy 6:5) This is the first and most important commandment. And the second is like it. ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ (Leviticus 19:18) Everything that is written in the Law and the Prophets is based on these two commandments.”
In Japanese:
Living Bible Japanese
「先生。 モーセの法律の中で一番重要な戒めは何でしょうか」と尋ねました。
イエスはお答えになりました。「『心を尽くし、たましいを尽くし、思いを尽くして、あなたの神である主を愛しなさい。』これが第一で、最も重要な戒めです。 第二に重要なのも、同じようなもので、『自分を愛するように、あなたの隣人を愛しなさい』という戒めです。 ほかのすべての戒めと預言者たちの命令も、この二つから出ています。 ですから、この二つを守れば、ほかの戒めを全部守ったことになるのです。 これを守りなさい。」
Colloquial Japanese
「先生、律法の中で、どのいましめがいちばん大切なのですか」。 イエスは言われた、「『心をつくし、精神をつくし、思いをつくして、主なるあなたの神を愛せよ』。 これがいちばん大切な、第一のいましめである。 第二もこれと同様である、『自分を愛するようにあなたの隣り人を愛せよ』。 これらの二つのいましめに、律法全体と預言者とが、かかっている」。
I have a copy of Dr. Nagai Takashi’s carigraphy of “Love others as much as you love yourself” hanged near my desk at home. 如己愛人.
As many people I know, I don’t agree with church on a lot of issues. We also talked about being cafeteria catholicism. And difference between Catholic with capital-C and catholic with lowercase-c (which means “Including or concerning all humankind; universal”).
When I have my doubts, I need to remember Matthew 22:36-40.
