The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1906-10-04

The Two Great Commandments.


oratorio, The Messiah, was
found bathed in tears. What
touched him was the prophets
words, He was despised." The
despising of Jesus was as evident
in the temple as at the cross. And
physical pains are not SO severe to
a spiritual soul as wounds inflicted
upon that higher nature. Lowell
says. Our modern martyrdOms
are done in type" So Jesus was
crucifed again and again before
ever He came to the cross. We
come now to the last onset OF His
despising critics.
II is led on by the Pharisees.
They have heard Of the bewilder-
ing defeat Jesus had given their
rivals, the Sadducees; how, in
dialectical way, He had put an
end to them forever. Now, if
they, the Pharisees, could get the
better of this young rabbi in de
bate, they would score a point
against the Sadducees at the time
that they blocked the way of a
Teacher whose success meant the
end Of their system.
We can not know whether the
questioner was disingenuous or
not. To assert (Expositor's) that
the question was asked by "a true
man, !" "a genuine inquirer, D." is an
assumption, and at any rate, aside
from the real point at issue. What
the Pharisees wanted was to elicit
from Jesus a sentiment, if possible,
a categorical statement which
could be used against Him in the
trial for heresy impending.
The question itself illustrates
the character of religion then cur
rent. 1t was technically gone to
seed. Liberalism had killed spir-
ituality. There was such a batch
of commandments that classified
ton seemed imperative; SO there
were the little and the great, light
and weighty. And the question
which was the chief Of all was nat
urally much mooted. \ spiritual
virtue was not thought of. 1t was
for some. washing hands; others,
how to build a booth for the Feast
of Tabernacles or, at best, circum-
cision and keeping the Sabbath.
The answer of Jesus has been
called a miracle of genius, a fash
of inspiration. He escaped the
snare of the fowler. He allied
Himself with no pickering faction.
He carried the question over into
an entirely new realm, where there
are 10 d1sjointed commands and
sacramento offices; but where
there is a Life which gives contin.
uity, vigor, and progress to the
whole. With one splendid fash,
as of heavenly searchlight, Jesus
discloses the permanent and fun
damental element in religion-for
all time and all people. Absent, it
makes the Christian a heather;
present, it makes the heather a
Christian, though he may have
never 50 much as heard Of Christ.
The disputatious coterie fades
away. Jesus is speaking to the
universal human heart. The man
Of today, technically rated an un-
believer, must recognize the di-
vineness Of this message, and, re,
ceiving it into an honest hear
must begin the life of love toward
God and his fellows. And that is
religion.
Too great technicality must be
avoided in defining the manner of
our loving God-viz., heart, soul,
mind. 1t means, as Meyer aptly
says, "the complete, harmonious,
self-dedication Of the entire inner
man to Cod" 1t seems worth
while, however, to emphasize the
fact that we can love God with the
mind. 1t is to be feared that, as
Philips Brooks says, "there are ig-
norant saints who come very near
to God and live in the rich sun
light of His love; but none the less