Nothing Like A Good Question

Dear Sutton and Savannah, 

Scripture suggests that the enduring value of our work may lie less in what we accomplish than in the love through which we accomplish it. Furthermore, love is not simply the standard by which we evaluate the work of the self. It is the means by which the unfinished self becomes whole.

-Dad

Inside Out Lectionary Letters

Year A Proper 25 - (Texts, Art, Hymns)

Readings for Sunday, October 25, 2026

Deuteronomy 34:1-12 / Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17 / 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 / Matthew 22:34-46

Summary of Matthew 22:34-46

The Pharisees continue their efforts to trip Jesus up with questions. He tells them that love is the greatest commandment, and then turns the tables by stumping them with a question about who the Messiah is.

Scripture as Mirror of the Soul

The first portion of this passage feels like a crescendo moment in the ministry of Jesus. Once again, the Pharisees attempt to trap him with a question. And it is a great question. But this time, their question provides Jesus an opportunity to summarize the heart of his teaching. Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. Everything else hangs on these two commandments. All the laws, religious traditions, moral expectations, and theological arguments find their meaning in love. What a remarkably simple, yet profoundly challenging way to understand the spiritual journey. Love is not simply another commandment to obey. It is the foundation upon which everything else rests.

But what does it mean to love my neighbor as myself? Perhaps that little phrase invites me to look inward. If I am constantly criticizing, shaming, rejecting, or punishing parts of myself, how might that influence the way I encounter others? The inner journey invites me to establish love as the organizing principle of my own personality. I can approach my fears with curiosity, my failures with grace, my wounds with compassion, and even my shadow with a willingness to understand rather than condemn. This doesn’t mean excusing destructive behavior or abandoning responsibility. It means creating an inner environment where every part of me can be heard, challenged, nurtured, and transformed. Love becomes not merely the goal of the journey, but the way I travel.

Perhaps the greatest challenge is that love cannot remain simply an ideal I admire or a commandment I try harder to obey. It must become the atmosphere in which my inner life unfolds. As the divine image within me becomes less obscured by fear, shame, and self-preservation, love can begin to emerge more freely in my relationships with others. And when I encounter someone whose beliefs, behavior, or very presence challenges me, perhaps I can respond with something other than defensiveness or judgment. The greatest commandment then becomes more than something I believe. It becomes the very character of the person I am becoming.

Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17 - Scripture as Prayers of the Soul

Lord, for generations You have been called our dwelling place. How extraordinary that You invite us to become a dwelling place for Your Spirit. You are present in the vastness of creation and in the smallest details of life. Your breath gives life to the dust from which we are formed, and Your presence finds a home within our very souls.

When sorrow lingers, meet me with compassion. When hope feels distant, remind me that Your steadfast love is not measured by the length or ease of my life. May each new morning offer the possibility of beginning again. And may Your handiwork, so evident in the heavens, the mountains, and the seas, become increasingly visible in the inner landscape of my soul.

Let Your love shape my thoughts, soften my judgments, and guide my relationships. And help us become a community held together not by uniformity or certainty, but by compassion, justice, and love.

Amen.