Jesus says, ‘Love God above anything else’

By Tamora Whitney
Creighton University

Today’s readings are about treating people decently and doing the right things. In the reading from Exodus, the Lord tells the people not to oppress immigrants. Everyone comes from immigrant stock. Everyone is originally from somewhere else.

I’m descended from Irish and German immigrants (mostly), but I, like most people, want to be treated decently and feel like I belong here and have a community.

The Lord says immigrants should be welcomed and treated decently, the same way we would want to be treated. They are our neighbors now, and after all, we come from immigrant stock as well. He says in his compassion he will hear the cries of the abused and give them justice.

In the Gospel today, the Pharisees ask Jesus what is the greatest commandment. It’s surely a test trying to slip him up, get him to say something they can criticize or prosecute. Maybe, their point is that all the commandments are important.

But what Jesus does is perfect and logical and simple. He says the first commandment is to love God above anything else.

That’s the greatest commandment, and it would include following God’s commandments. If you love God you will not have false gods or idols, you will keep God’s day holy and won’t take the Lord’s name in vain. In essence, all sin is putting something before God, giving anything more importance than God in our lives. So, if everyone just did this one commandment, put God before anything else, all the other commandments would be moot.

But then he adds that the second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. If you love your neighbors you will not harm them. If you love your neighbors you won’t kill them or steal from them or try to cheat them or lie to them.

If you love your parents you will honor them and treat them well.

And, who are our neighbors? Everyone else.

If you treat others fairly and decently, the way you yourself would want to be treated by others, you will live in harmony, as God intended.

God says the whole law depends on these two commandments. Put God first, and treat all others fairly and decently.

How great would our world be if people actually did this? No crime, no discrimination, no greed.

I don’t even understand how some people can be so cruel, so selfish, advancing their own interests even at the expense of others.

That is not how it is supposed to be. If people would love God and each other, that’s all we need.

Tamora Whitney has taught in Creighton University’s English department since 1991, teaching world literature and sometimes composition.