Our Neighbor And The Law

Last updated on: March 1, 2021 at 4:11 am by Henry Karlson

Our Neighbor And The Law 2021-03-01T04:11:57-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Daphni Monastery: Mosaic of Abba John the Dwarf / Wikimedia Commons

Paul, showing his knowledge and understanding of the teachings of Jesus and how they related to his Jewish heritage, implores us to love our neighbor. He tells us that when we do so, we fulfill the law:

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law (Rom 13:8-10 RSV).

It might seem strange to say that we owe others love, for should love not be something which is freely given and not treated as a mere obligation? And yet, the law is centered upon the dictates of love. It tells us what to do when we ourselves do not yet know pure love, that is, when we are not yet motivated and directed by love. If we truly act out of love, we will fulfill the law without the need for any external directives. In order to make this clear, in order for us to understand the purpose and motivation for the law, we are told that the law can be summed up by two forms of love: love for God and love for our neighbor. Thus, when asked by a rich young man what he should do to receive eternal life, eternal beatitude with God, Jesus indicated that the young man should follow the law by loving his neighbor as himself:

And behold, one came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? One there is who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which?” And Jesus said, “You shall not kill, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 19:16-19 RSV).

It was not a new reading of the law which Jesus gave. Thus, at a different occasion, a Jewish lawyer, a scholar, gave a similar reading. Upon hearing the lawyer’s interpretation of the law, Jesus told him, if he followed through with what he said, he would inherit eternal life:

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live” (Lk. 10:25-28 RSV).

It is clear, when we read the Gospels, this understanding of the law, that it focused upon and was centered upon love, lay behind much of what Jesus taught to his disciples. Jesus, his early followers, Paul, and many of the Jewish scholars of his day were in agreement: to fulfill the law we must love our neighbor. The rules are meant to help us understand what that means, but we can also find other ways to express this truth, which is what Jesus did with the parable of the Good Samaritan.

The law is the law of love. Love, in one sense, must be given freely, but yet love is also a law unto itself: those who know love know its pull upon them, how it motivates and directs them to act. It is a law, but it is a law which does not hinder us and bind us in some sort of unfree state; rather, when we are full of love, we find ourselves truly free, liberated from the bonds of sin. Moral laws, to be truly moral, present and serve what love motivates us to do naturally. The more we put the moral law in practice, not in a legalistic manner, but in understanding its intent by its connection with love, we will find ourselves opening up more and more to love until at last, we will be so filled with love, all we do will be in and through that love. Then we will transcend the legalism of the law and truly live by its spirit, the spirit of love, fulfilling our place as children of God.

Thus Abba John the Dwarf tells us that if we truly want to be set free, if we truly want the glory of God and the bounty of eternal life, we must build ourselves up properly. We are to do this, not by looking after ourselves, after our wants and desires in a selfish manner, but rather, by working for the good of our neighbor:

Abba John the Dwarf said, ‘A house is not built by beginning at the top and working down. You must begin with the foundations in order to reach the top.’ They said to him, ‘What does this saying mean?’ He said, ‘The foundation is our neighbour, whom we must win, and this is the place to begin. For all the commandments of Christ depend upon this one.”[1]

The law of love, whether it resides in us internally, or if we must listen to its expectations through moral constructs, expects us to take care of our neighbor, to be concerned with their interests, so that we build them up and make sure that their needs are truly fulfilled. Christ commanded us to take care of our neighbor. The more we do so, the more we will find we are also building ourselves up. For truly, the more we follow the dictates of love, the more we act on them, the more they become a part of us and transform us so that in the end, we will be able to be who we are meant to be, that is people made in the image and likeness of the God who is love. We will become reflections of love. Then, we will find our heart has become so pure that we shall even see God. For God is love, and those who want to see and know God must know love.

[1] The Sayings of the Desert Fathers. Trans. Benedicta Ward (Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1984), 93 [John the Dwarf Saying 39].

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

Previous Post

February 28, 2021

St Gregory Palamas And The Uncreated Energies Of God

Next Post

March 3, 2021 Christ, Our Divine Mother, Overcomes Evil From Within

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz