and the second is this

Psalm 48; Leviticus 18-19

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.




The second great commandment ends a section where every verse, from v. 9-18, is a command about treating people right - especially those with needs (the poor, the sojourner, the deaf, the blind). Later it appears in reference to "the stranger who sojourns among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." (vs. 33-34)

We understand that Jesus linked up this commandment with Deuteronomy 6:4 ("You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart...") at least in part because they both begin "You shall love". That important phrase (expressed positively not negatively, "You shall not...") is a device, like the linkages that hold train cars together, that Rabbi Jesus and other sages of his time used to teach their disciples.

Deuteronomy 6:4 summarizes the "Second (Giving of the) Law" (Deutero-Nomos) in chapter 5, and Leviticus 19:18, while not really a summary of what preceded, concludes a section (vs. 1-18) that references six of the ten commandments (vs 3-4,11-12) and again places it firmly in a section on treating people right, especially those in need.

A couple of thoughts...
1) Neither of these great commandments do away with the others,

2) but they are a "summary of the law" (BCP) that can never be exhausted on tablets or paper or gigabytes. There is no end to "you shall love..."

3) I find it instructive that "love your neighbor" is amidst all the concern for those in need. The one time Jesus elaborated on this he placed it in a story about someone with needs... (Luke 10).

4) I can't get away from the Pharisee from Sunday's gospel... whose holiness separated him from people, despising them contemptuously. ("Pharisee" = separate) Even though the second great commandment is in the "holiness code", in fact this chapter begins "You shall be holy, for I the LORD am holy," holiness is never to drive a wedge, or cause a separation, or be a reason not to come alongside and serve people in love.

But I'm so inclined to separate myself, to avoid needs, to protect myself, exalt myself... even with those closest to me.

God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Fill me, change me, heal me with your never-ending love.