Good Friday: Loving our neighbor is not enough
Holy Week is the time we retrace the steps of Christ on his last week on earth We examine through Lent our adherence to the Great Commandment–to love God above all. However, this is through the lens that Jesus gave when he combined forever the Second Commandment with the First. “Love your neighbor as yourself.” This Second Command forever connects with loving God making our public life of justice an outflow of an inward love for God. It is not a private thing to be a Christian, in other words. Our social acts are connected to our inward piety. In fact, Jesus raises the ante when he gives a new command: “Love each other as I have loved you.” Not only does our personal devotion find proof in our love of neighbor our true obedience is to love each other like Christ loves—sacrificial, serving, condescending, empowering, forgiving, love. This is…