Let’s play a little game of "What If" this morning. What if someone who was visiting Snow Creek Christian Church for the very first time came to you after the worship service and said something like this: "You know, I used to go to church a lot when I was a kid, but I’ve been out of the church for a long time now. It just didn’t seem that important to me, I guess. I couldn’t fit it in to my busy schedule. But now I want to come back. I feel like something is missing in my life, and I think I know what it is. So I’ve been visiting around at some of the local churches, trying to find out where I fit in. I wonder if you could tell me what would be expected of me if I joined this church?"

A word of caution: If your first thought is, "I’d send them to the preacher. That’s his department," think about this. That person just sat through a worship service, right? During the last twenty minutes of the service , give or take a few - I know, I know sometimes it seems Much longer than that - who is the most visible person in the church? Do you really think that visitor who has come to you for information does not know who the preacher is? But he or she did not ask the preacher the question, did they? They asked YOU! They want an answer from an ordinary person, someone who won’t take quite so long to tell them what they need to know. What will you tell this person who sincerely wants to know what it would mean to be a member of Snow Creek Christian Church? How would you summarize, in five minutes or less, what it means to be a member of this church?

I suppose the answer they got would depend on who they asked, wouldn’t it? I mean, different folks have different priorities. For some, regular attendance at worship services comes first. Others, especially the members of the stewardship committee, might stress the importance of consistent financial support of the church. Still others might answer that becoming involved in the life of the congregation, volunteering to serve on a committee, or some form of hands-on involvement was a high priority. And still others might stress caring for one another or witnessing to our faith in our daily lives. So there are many possible responses to the question, "What would be expected of me if I became a member of this church?"

I wonder how Jesus would answer that question? If a prospective church member were able to ask Jesus himself what it would mean to be a member of the church, how would Jesus respond?

Maybe we can gain some insight into that by looking at how Jesus answers the question put before him in today’s gospel reading, "Which is the greatest commandment in the law?" True, they are two different questions, but the same concern lies at the heart of both questions, doesn’t it? The issue is, what is most important? Among all the things that are asked of us, what is absolutely essential? Is there one thing we simply MUST do in order to be a faithful follower of Christ?

Before we go any further, we should remember that in Matthew’s description of this encounter, the one who asks Jesus this question, "Which is the greatest commandment in the law," probably has an ulterior motive for asking it. He is part of the group who asked Jesus that tricky question we talked about last week, the one about whether or not they should pay taxes to the Roman government. So this new question about the greatest commandment is most likely another test, a trap, a trick question designed to get Jesus into trouble.

You would think Jesus would be able to see through these folks by now, wouldn’t you? You would think that he would just ignore the question and the questioner and go on about his business. But he doesn’t. In fact, the response Jesus gives to this particular question forms the basis of the early Christian community’s understanding of the gospel. All four gospels and the writings of Paul bear unanimous witness to the fact that Jesus’ response to this question defines what is expected of those who would be followers of Jesus.

The question Jesus was asked that day deals with the Law, the commandments of God by which the children of Israel had been instructed to govern their lives. Now, when we hear commandments we immediately think of the Ten Commandments, which many of us may have committed to memory at an early age. Most churches today don’t require Sunday school classes to memorize them any more, if they ask their children to memorize any scripture at all.

But the one who asked Jesus this question, "Which is the greatest commandment in the law?" probably had in mind something a little more challenging than merely choosing one of the original ten commandments Moses received from God on Mount Sinai. By the time Jesus came along, the multitude of commandments listed in the five books of the Torah, the Law, dealing with everything from how to cut your food to the proper clothing to wear to a funeral, had been counted, numbered and systemized into 613 commandments, 365 of which were negative imperatives ("thou shalt not...") and 268 positive commands ("thou shalt..."). You thought it was hard to memorize TEN? So the spot on which the Pharisees tried to put Jesus with this question was this: out of all 613 of God’s commandments, which one would you say is most important? That’s sort of like asking someone which is the greatest sin, isn’t it? A sin is a sin, but, for example, is it more sinful to be a homosexual than it is to lie on your income tax return?

If we were not already familiar with the answer Jesus gives, we might be hesitant to answer the question, "Which is the greatest commandment?" And rightfully so. After all, what IS the most important thing to remember in our relationship with God? We said earlier that different folks might have different perspectives on that.

But I want you to notice that the text does not indicate that Jesus took even a moment to think about the question before giving his answer. He immediately quoted back to his listeners two of the positive, "thou shalt," commandments. Which two were they?

They were two that begin with the words, "You shall love..." Deuteronomy 6:5, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might." In other words, you shall love God totally, unconditionally, with all that you are and all that you have. And the second commandment Jesus selected, even though he was only asked for one, was from Leviticus 19:18, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." That is, you shall hold your neighbor in the same regard you have for yourself. Apparently, because Jesus listed these two commands in a "1a" and "1b" kind of format, you cannot do one without doing the other. Everything, not only in the Law but in life itself, revolves around the commandment, "You shall love..."

So would that be an appropriate response to the prospective church member’s question. After all, we do believe that what Jesus says is the ultimate truth, don’t we? But if we did give that response, would we have to add a disclaimer, such as, "Don’t do what I do, do what I say"?

These words of Jesus put all 613 little rules and codes and buzzwords of our lives and church into perspective. If what Jesus says is right - that above everything else we are to love God and love our neighbor - then everything else is secondary. It’s great if you can be here every Sunday, and it’s great if you can contribute large sums of money to the church, and it’s great if you volunteer to work in various ministries of the church. But above all else, we are to love God and love our neighbor.

There is a legend handed down from the early church about John, the beloved disciple of Jesus. Of the twelve original apostles, only John is said to have lived to be a ripe old age. In his later years not only his body but also his eyesight and his mind began to fail him. Eventually, according to the legend, John’s mind had deteriorated to the point that he could only speak five words, one sentence which he would repeat over and over.

You can imagine the high regard in which the early church must have held the last surviving apostle of Jesus. The legend says that every Lord’s Day, John would be carried into the midst of the congregation that had assembled for worship in the church at Ephesus, where John spent the last years of his life. Total silence would fall over the congregation, even though they already knew what John was going to say. Then the old man would speak the words, "My children, love one another." Over and over, he would repeat them until he grew tired from talking, and no one yawned or looked at their watch or gazed off into space absentmindedly. They listened as John preached his five-word sermon over and over: "My children, love one another."

That was the essence of the gospel for John. It ought to be the essence of the gospel for us, too.

If we were to ask Jesus today, "Which is the greatest commandment?" or "What’s the most important thing in life?" or "What would I have to do in order to pick up my cross and follow you?" I think I know what Jesus would say, don’t you? "With all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might, you shall love the Lord your God and you shall love your neighbor."

That may sound simple, but you and I both know how difficult it can be. Sometimes, when life gets hard, when we lose a loved one, when a marriage shows all the signs of falling apart at the seams, it’s not easy to keep loving God unconditionally, is it? And, Lord knows, our neighbors can sometimes do things or say things that make loving them nigh onto impossible. But then, we also know that nothing difficult, nothing of lasting significance, is ever easy.

So, how do we answer the question, "What would be expected of me if I were to become a member of Snow Creek Christian Church?" Well, maybe we could just say, "That’s an easy question to answer, but living out the answer is where the hard part comes in. You see, the answer is all you have to do is love God totally and unconditionally, with all that you are and all that you have. That’s part one. Part two is you have to love your neighbor that way too. Still interested?" AMEN