What about you? Do you have a wide range of favorites? Or, can you answer with one thing when they ask? I can’t seem to pick just one favorite thing.
I have favorite foods, coffees, teas, movies, songs, instrumental music pieces, books, authors, actors, TV shows, people, places, countries, campgrounds, ocean cruises ... but, they’re all plural.
Here’s a few examples:
Music: I’ll Stand By You (“Nothing you confess could make me love you less.”); In the Mood, Clair de Lune, Cristofori’s Dream, classic Jazz, and You’re So Vain (because, well ... it’s about me).
Books: Dorothy Dunnett’s Lymond Chronicles, Ian Rankin’s Rebus novels. Plus Robert Heinlein, Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, Janet Evanovich, Sue Grafton....
TV & movies: Joe vs the Volcano, Sean Connery in Outland, Downton Abby, A Walk in the Clouds, The Orville, The Education of Little Tree, noir films, and classic Disney.
So, with all that, it’s probably not a surprise I have a few candidates for favorite scripture.
I try to live by Proverbs 3:5-6 (“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”).
My faith is strengthened by Hebrews 11:1 (“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”).
I measure my spiritual journey progress by Matthew 25:40 (Jesus speaking: “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”).
I take hope from Lamentations 3:22-24 (Jeremiah speaking: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.”)
But, unlike many other parts of my life, I actually have one favorite scripture: the one in this week’s Matthew passage (“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”)
Not only is it the capstone scripture, enfolding all the Law and the Prophets, it is also the most important message in the Bible: God loves me and I love God. God’s love flows into me so I can love my neighbor.
All of the scriptures flow from that one. So, for me, when it comes to favorite scriptures, it’s true:
There can be only one.
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Different versions of this reflection appeared in prior years as My Favorites and These Are A Few of My Favorite Things.
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Can you be with us, Friday morning, for DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast? We gather on Zoom at 8:00 for a wonderful hour of scripture, discussion, and humor. Contact me ahead of time so I can get you the Zoom link and tell our gatekeeper to let you in.
Blessings,
Steve
SCRIPTURES FOR THE COMING WEEK
Proper 25 (30) (October 29, 2017)Find them here: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu//texts.php?id=165
Deuteronomy 34:1-12
Psalm 90:1-6, 13-17
Leviticus 19:1-2, 15-18
Psalm 1
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Matthew 22:34-46
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