For a final thought, Pheme Perkins [679] offers:

What does it mean for Christians today to say “the Lord our God, the Lord is one”? Most of us do not live surrounded by temples and images of polytheism. Yet we might ask whether we have not given in to another kind of polytheism, a casual pluralism that accepts whatever anyone believes as “okay.” Or again, we allow good things that are not ultimate to become the ultimate and defining forces in our lives — nation, occupation, family, race, political cause, or theological system. [p. 679]

In the face of Perkins’ comment, one wonders how often such “polytheism” hinders us from the second commandment in which love demands a word from us, perhaps a gentle “push” or reminder to our neighbor that the Kingdom is at hand.

It is fashionable nowadays to place the ‘great commandment’ beside the ‘great commission’ (Matt. 28:19) as denoting the social responsibility of the church (love your neighbor as yourself) alongside its evangelistic responsibility. No-one would deny the social implication of the gospel, but, in fairness to biblical exegesis, it should be remembered that the ‘first and great commandment’ as recorded here is total love for God: the ‘second great commandment’ of love for neighbors stems from it, and is set within this theological context. If we lose this balance, we are left with a shallow humanitarianism without any deep theological roots.

Soren Kierkegaard well says ‘If we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, then this commandment opens, as with a masterkey, the lock to our self-love, and snatches it away from us.’

In this summary, the heart of true religion is seen to lie, not in negative commands, but in a positive loving attitude to God and others. This is the “liberty” about which St. Paul wrote in Gal. 5:1 – “For freedom Christ set us free”.  This is what St Augustine means by saying ‘Love and do as you like’, for such love towards God and others will in itself keep us from license. If we love others, we will do nothing to hurt them and, if we love God, what we like and choose will be to do God’s will and pleasure (Ps. 40:8). That is why Paul can say “Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.’ (Rom. 13:10).

Image credit: The Pharisees and the Sadducees Come to Tempt Jesus | James Tissot | Brooklyn Museum, PD-US