On previous occasions I have talked about hitting speed bumps when we read the scriptures. Speed bumps are words or phrases or sentences that cause us to slow down if not come to a complete halt in our reading because they provoke us to stop and think more deeply about what we are reading. Well, today’s reading in the Gospel according to John has one of those speed bumps. Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”
The odd word, the speed bump, is the word “new.” What is “new” about the commandment to love one another? In Leviticus 19:18, we are told to “love your neighbor as yourself.” That commandment is at the heart of Torah and is quoted and referenced on numerous occasions in the New Testament by Jesus and by Paul and James (Mt 5:43, Mt 19:19, 22:39, Mr 12:31, Lu 10:27, Ro 13:9, Ga 5:14, Jas 2:8). Read more…