Didache: Love

From the past post, I summarized the Didache, an early church document. Now, let us really focus on the very first part of the Didache. The first part of the Didache speaks of the Way of Life. Interestingly, this way seems to emphasis commandments a large amount. There is no discussion of grace and mercy. There is no command to pray a “sinner’s prayer”. Instead, this early group of believers emphasized obedience to God.

In Protestant circles particularly, this is considered almost taboo. No one discusses what God demands in regards to obedience. But the early believers had not had Pelagius or the Roman Catholic tradition to direct their attention away from the commandments.

The first two large parts of the Didache essentially restate the Greatest Commandment of Love the LORD God with all your heart, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself. There is no question that these commands were central to any early follower of Christ. And for good reason, because Christ taught that the entire Torah was summed up in these commandments. We sometimes forget, I think, that Christ commanded we love God and others. We so often think that grace is an excuse to hate one another. Far be it from us!!!

Then the next portion essentially quotes Jesus’ teachings about how to love one another. Mostly, these quotations seem to come from the Sermon on the Mount, but it is also very possible that these were written down from memory as disciples of any rabbi would memorize the teachings of their rabbi. So the oral tradition may have supplied the Didache as much as Matthew.

I want to end with this quotation, which I think is so radically different from our outlook today about love. “Let your alms sweat in your hands, until you know to whom you should give.” It is very interesting that money is addressed in the section on loving our neighbor, because today we often see money as a means to provide for ourselves, but the Didache looks at money as an opportunity to love our neighbor who is in need. But I also love the word-picture that is given here. The money is supposed to “sweat” in our hands. We all have held a bunch of change or even bills in our hands. After a while the money becomes damp from the sweat of our palms. But this doesn’t happen if we don’t have the money in our hands. The point, obviously, isn’t that we are to holding on to our money. Instead, it is the opposite. We are to be ready to let go of our money at all times. Thus, are our hands sweaty. They are sweaty from be ready to give whenever and wherever.

May we love the LORD God with everything that we are. May we love all of our fellow creatures just as we love ourselves.