The question is asked by an attorney—an expert in

religious law. It comes as part of a larger, extended

back-and-forth between Jesus and a group of leaders

during which they also ask him about death and

taxes. This is a tough crowd. The final question, like

the two that come before it, is offered as a test. Not a

test to measure knowledge, but to set up debate.

Teacher, which commandment in the law is the

greatest? Name one.

Regardless of interlocutor intent, I am grateful for

the question. I’m especially glad that this lawyer

asked it in such a direct way—that’s a talent of the

profession, I’ve found. We have a few of them in

this congregation. But thanks to this attorney, we

don’t have to wonder what Jesus thought was most

important for people of faith. He tells us what faith

asks of us. Love God. Love your neighbor. There

is nothing more important than this. Everything is

subordinate to love.

You may know that Jesus is not writing a new script

here. He is drawing on his own religious tradition,

the faith of his childhood. The words come from

his Bible, from Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Still, as

is often the case in exchanges between Jesus and

attorneys, there is a twist in the text. Our Lord makes

an interesting and utterly unexpected revision to the

passage. The verse Jesus quotes first, Deuteronomy

6:5, reads, “You shall love the Lord your God with all

your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might

(or strength).”

Did you catch the change? Jesus commands his

followers to love God with all their minds. The

Greek word here is dianoia. It can be translated

intelligence, or understanding, or imagination.

Context matters. Here, Jesus is in a conversation

with educated, smart, well-versed religious leaders,

and he intentionally shifts the perspective. Love

God with all your mind. Your brain. Your intellect.

Your understanding.

How can we do that? What does “loving God

with our minds” look like in practice? These are

important questions for us, not just because Jesus

makes loving God with our minds a part of the

greatest commandment, but also because faith

and knowledge, heart and mind, have a complex

and complicated relationship. Hear again: Context

matters. Ours.

Russell Moore is a Baptist pastor and the editor

of Christianity Today, and he has just written an

important book which he has framed as an altar

call to American Christians. Based on his own

experience and the witness of many who have grown

disillusioned by expressions of Christian witness that

put tribalism over basic truth and political power over

inner integrity, Moore raises a call for repentance and

renewal. Such a movement might begin by loving

God with our minds. The uncomfortable reality is that

many so-called Christian leaders have expected (or

even demanded) lockstep uniformity even as they

twist the message of the Gospel to justify immoral

means that increase their own power and influence.

And the implicit expectation is that worshipers

will simply and mindlessly fall in line. That’s not a

problem here.

But let me be clear. When divergent viewpoints

are squashed and preachers make only emotional

appeals to anger and fear, we have left the truth

of faith for the worship of idols. Here’s how Moore

describes it, writing, “The gospel…does not go

forward by propaganda or demagoguery or by cynical

appeals to popular conspiracy theories or folk religion.

The gospel goes forth…by the ‘open statement of the

truth’ (That’s 2 Cor. 4:2).” I add my amen.

There is now a justifiable skepticism among those

outside the church who perceive religion as hostile

to intellectual pursuits or healthy debate. I would

suggest that this hostility is not simply ineffective

evangelism, though it is certainly that. More

importantly, such sanctimonious contempt for a

thinking faith betrays the message of Jesus. I believe

that when Jesus answered this direct and provocative

question from a local attorney with an equally direct

and provocative response, he really meant what he

said, including the charge to love God with our minds.

As the proud son of a Presbyterian pastor, I was

literally born into this Reformed theological tradition.

And even at a young age, I was grateful to belong

to a community that encouraged deep thinking and

wrestling as an essential component of faith formation.

This was no accident. There is, at the core of our

theology, an appreciation for the life of the mind and a

sense of its importance to the journey of discipleship.

That we must grow in understanding as we grow in

faith. That our minds as well as our hearts must be

stretched as we continue the journey of discipleship.

I’m always grateful when someone who worships here

says something like, “I’m glad that we don’t have to

leave our brains in the parking lot when we come to

worship at Second.” Indeed, worshiping God requires

our minds as well as our hearts and our souls.

Faith requires intentional effort and openness to

growth, even to changing our perspective. In my

experience, this happens best in community. The

classes, small groups, Bible studies, retreats, and

enrichment programs that are offered here at Second

are one testament to our conviction that God calls

us to use the brains that God gave us. A century ago,

C.S. Lewis insisted: “God is no fonder of intellectual

slackers than of any other kind of slackers. If you are

thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you, you are

embarking on something that is going to take the

whole of you, brains and all.”i

Whenever we choose to engage our minds, we will

find that loving God expands our understanding

and deepens our capacity for discernment. Context

matters, and this is particularly important right

now. We are not suffering from a lack of access

to information. Quite the contrary. Incalculable

inventories of human knowledge literally exist

at our fingertips in ways that would have been

inconceivable even a few short years ago. And yet,

drowning in a sea of information, wisdom still eludes

us. The truth is not in us. We accept and perpetuate

falsehoods. And perhaps most of all, access to

knowledge has not made us more compassionate,

more just, more generous, or gracious.

What we lack is not information but discernment. Not

knowledge but wisdom. Please note that Jesus did not

offer as the greatest commandment the instruction to

grasp God with all our minds, to understand God with

all our minds, to figure God out or explain God. We are

commanded to employ our intellect in the cause of

love. When we grow in understanding, we grow in our

love for God.

There is a wonderful moment in Paul’s letter to the

Romans that illustrates this point. The Apostle has

been wresting for several chapters with a thorny

and complicated theological issue. His brilliant mind

has been twisted into pretzels trying to understand

and make logical, rational sense of God’s plan for

salvation. He’s tried several different approaches,

several ways into the problem, and none seem to

satisfy him. And so, finally, he throws up his hands.

Not in exasperation, but in praise.

Here is what he writes: “O the depth of the wisdom

and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his

judgements and how inscrutable his ways!” Paul

makes the shift from debate to doxology—words of

prayer and praise.

I experienced something similar in a powerful way

back in March. I had the privilege of teaching a class

for a group of high school seniors at Brebeuf, the

Jesuit Prep School just a couple of miles from here.

The course was titled Faith and Politics. I was given

forty-five minutes—the last class of the day. I quickly

learned there was no need to be concerned about

filling those forty-five minutes. I was two slides into

my carefully prepared presentation when a student

raised her hand. She asked an excellent question,

and from that point forward, discussion and debate

were the modes of engagement in the classroom.

Students pressed each other, and me, with different

viewpoints and insights from a variety of angles. We

were in deep intellectual waters, and I was enjoying

every single moment of it. Engaged minds. Brilliant

brains. Tough questions. No easy answers. In fact, I

was enjoying it so much that I completely lost track

of time. And so, I was surprised when the intercom

buzzed, but the students were not. They closed

their laptops and set their pens on notebooks. Their

heads bowed as a student’s voice came through the

speaker. In God’s presence, review the events of your

day. Recall the moments during the day for which you

are grateful. Remind yourself that God is in all of these

moments. Now consider the challenges you may have

faced today. Remember that God is present when we

face our difficulties and gives us courage, peace, and

wisdom. Now, reflect on where you may have fallen

short today. Recall that God helps us to understand

our failings and forgives us. Finally, let us give thanks

to God for the gift of this day and look forward to the

graces God has for us tomorrow.

With that, the bell rang, and the students filed out of

the classroom. It’s the Daily Examen, a practice first

instituted by St. Ignatius in the 15th Century, calling

for two minutes of quiet reflection at the close of day. I

watched in absolute wonder as these students moved

from debate to doxology without missing a beat.

The command is clear. Heart, Soul, and Mind. Love

God with all you’ve got.