The Great Commandments
17th March 2026
When asked what was the greatest commandment, Jesus replied ‘Love the Lord your God with all you being and love your neighbour as yourself’. On the surface they sound simple. In practice they are not. We might think prayer and worship address the first part. But that may not be enough – if we love God absolutely, we also need to love and respect all of creation. We would not say to a young child, I love you absolutely and then tear apart their beloved teddy bear. To love God is to actively – proactively – love what God loves.
Loving our neighbour is to give them care and respect. But who is my neighbour?
The one in need, those I encounter in my everyday – those I encounter physically and those I encounter virtually via news channels, the internet etc. For some it maybe all that I can offer is prayer.
And is my neighbour just my human neighbour? Or is my neighbour all my brothers and sisters in creation?
Loving my neighbour is to care and and respect not just people but plants and animals, birds and insects, and indeed whole ecosystems. We cannot not both act and pray.
We can’t react to every situation in need of attention but we can each actively discern where we focus our attention. Individually we are single stones but together we are the House of God
The Green Tau 