Monday, March 4, 2019
Excerpt from a four pages letter sent to Sonia by The Rev. Dayle Casey, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church Cripple Creek, Colorado during Lent. March 27, 2011. 3 Lent -- Year A Exodus 17:1-7 Romans 5:1-11 John 4:5-26, 39-42 Sonia shared it with friends. Below an excerpt of it that she revered: "....What does it all boil down to?" the pharisees asked Jesus in order to test him. "Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" And Jesus says, "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' Everything else is commentary. Everything else hangs on these two commandments." What does it all boil down to? What is essential and what is not? St. Augustine once had this discussion with a fellow priest. This was during a time of great turmoil over doctrine within the Church. Augustine and his brother priest disagreed on just about every major point of doctrine, and Augustine's companion said that they would have to go their separate ways, because they just didn't understand God in the same way at all. But Augustine asked, "Well, friend, can you and I agree at least on this - that the most important thing required of both of us is to love God and to love each other?"
And his adversary said, "Yes." "Then why don't we concentrate on that?" suggested Augustine. "In things essential, unity," Augustine is said to have added "In things nonessential, liberty. In all things, charity...."
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