Cooking & Christ - A Reflection on Matthew 22:34-40



When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

 

A few days ago I said that living the Christian life was easy. A few people wrote in asking how I could say that when it seemed to them like it was a huge struggle to walk on the straight and narrow each day. Well, the reason many of us find it difficult is because we have a list of do’s and don’ts that we believe we need to follow. We try our hardest to ensure we follow this list, and then feel frustrated, depressed, and guilty when we can’t. Is this not the truth?  So, what’s the solution. Stop trying! And throw out that list! Understand the key to holy living is relationship, not rules. Or to put it in even simpler terms, being holy is about love. 

 

Let me explain. Consider two women who have just got married. One has been forced into a marriage to a man she hardly knows; the other has married a man she is totally in love with. The former looks upon her husband as a rather stern man who is difficult to please; the other thinks her husband is wonderful, because he is affirming and supportive. Neither of the women knows how to cook. But they both step into the kitchen, one because she has been taught it is her duty to cook for her husband; the other simply because she loves her husband and wants to rustle up something nice for him. 

 

Both search YouTube for some easy recipes and start making them. For the first woman it is a burdensome chore that she has to do to please a demanding man; for the other it is simply an act of love. Guess who is going to filled with joy and who is not? And guess who is going to become the better cook? The woman who does it for love will discover that cooking is quite a lot of fun, and even though she botches up a few recipes, she continues to try out new things, getting more and more adventurous. On the other hand, although the other woman might become fairly proficient in cooking, it will never quite be the joyous thing it is for the other.

 

It is the same thing with God. We can obey him because it seems like he has set out a list of commands that we need to follow. This isn’t entirely our fault; we have have been taught repeatedly that is our “duty” to follow him. If we don’t, he will punish us, or boot us out of the house! Or, we can love him, and do things for him out of this love for him. And, although we might fail many times, when we discover that he is always encouraging and affirming, we will be encouraged to do even more things for him simply because he is so awesome.

 

This is why Jesus tells us to love him with all our being. If we love him with everything we have, we will want to please him with as much intensity. But in order to love him, we have to know him, no? So, let us get to know him. Let us read his word; and more importantly, reflect upon it deeply. These reflections should be nothing more than an appetizer for a full course meal of Jesus. And when we get to know him deeply, we will love him deeply as well! Oh, what joy!

 

And, oh yeah, enjoy the cooking! That goes for the men too! Love is a two-way street!

 

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/e42bsuRQEmM



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Let’s Get Healed - A Reflection on Matthew 18:21-19:1

Image
  Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, an
Read more

Patience - A Reflection on Luke 2:33-35.

Image
  And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”   This is probably the shortest passage that we have reflected upon this year. In it, we find a man named Simeon making a prophecy about three things. One, about Jesus. Two, about the people of Israel. And three, about the pain that Jesus’ mother Mary would go through. We have seen all his prophecies came true. But who is Simeon? And what can we learn from him? Ok. On the 40th day of his birth, Jesus is taken by Mary and Joseph to the temple to be officially inducted into the Jewish faith. When they were there, a man named Simeon came in to see them.   He is described as “righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the H
Read more

Dying and Killing

  The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?” The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God.” Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If those to whom the word of God came were called ‘gods’—and the scripture cannot be annulled— can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands. He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier,
Read more