Take some time at dinner one night this week to read this fun fact and then discuss some of the questions.
Did you know...
…that Jesus is referencing two different commandments from two different books of the bible in this week's reading? In his conversation with a lawyer, Jesus says that in order to inherit eternal life the young man must "love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength" and "love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus is quoting the Hebrew Scriptures, but not just one commandment.
The first part, "love God with all your heart..." is from Deuteronomy 6, which is called the Shema and was a special prayer that Jesus would have learned as a child. The second part, "love your neighbor..." is from Leviticus 19, where God says that everyone needs to be taken care of and treated justly, even people from outside our communities. In answering the lawyer, Jesus reminds people of a special prayer they all say regularly and about this command to love not just the people in our group, but all people.
Questions for Discussion:
1) What is a prayer or saying that you know by heart? Why is it important to you?
2) Who are the people its hard for you to love in your community? Why is it hard to love them?
3) Why is it important to be able to see everyone as our neighbor?
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