The religious people of Jesus’ day got together to try to trap Jesus with their questions. They asked him about paying taxes. They asked him about rising from death. We read today that they asked him what was the greatest commandment. The Jewish rabbis liked to distill the meaning of religion into little phrases like the ones we put on our Burma Shave signs. They had 632 laws and rules for the practice of their religion. They tried to break it down into a couple of inclusive commandments.

"Teacher," he asked, "which is the greatest commandment in the law?" Jesus combined two commandments from the early Hebrews and put them together: the shema - Deuteronomy 6:4 and the great command in Leviticus 19:18 were combined. Together they go: "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with…