Central to Jesus’ teachings is Love. Jesus did not actually use the word love all that much. He spoke more often of the results or expressions of love: service to others, compassion, forgiveness, and reconciliation. According to the teachings of Jesus, love of God cannot be lived out apart from love of our fellow human beings.
Key teachings of Jesus
To understand the words, sayings, and stories of Jesus, we must keep in mind the vehicle by which they come to us, that is, the Gospels. The Gospels are the faith community’s reflections upon and expressions of Jesus’ life and message. In other words, we do not find Jesus’ everyday, casual conversation in the Gospels. We have, rather, his most significant thoughts and ideas – expressed through the words of those who heard him. In most cases, these words were passed on orally for many years before finally being recorded in the Gospels.
ASSIGNMENT
Below are listed some of the key teachings of Jesus as found in the canonical Gospels. Read the texts below and summarize the teaching. You can use oremus Bible Browser to help you do this.
- Golden Rule (Matt 7:12 or Luke 6:31)
- The Greatest Commandment (Mark 12:28-34 or Luke 10:25-28 or Matt 22:34-40)
- Love Enemies (Matt 5:43-48 or Luke 6:27-28, 32-36)
- Retaliation (Matt 5:38-42 or Luke 6:29-31)
Reflection: Consider, for a moment, how the world might be a different place if all people chose to follow these four teachings. Set aside any thoughts of, “that will never happen” or “People would never do that”. Just imagine what the world would be like if everyone did. Write a reflection consisting of one or two paragraphs describing how the world would change if everyone chose to follow just these four teachings. Use examples to support your reflection.
Enter your response on your blog, print it and hand it in. The rubric used to grade this reflection is called Reflection Rubric, found on the pages at the right