Musical Setting of Jesus’ Greatest Commandments?

Diana Butler Bass helped popularize the term “Great Command Christianity,” and I’m on record as agreeing with her about how central Jesus’ “Greatest Commandments” should be for progressive Christians.

When asked, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus could have selected from the Torah any of the commandments. He could have chosen one the passages that have been used to justify patriarchy, xenophobia, or violence; but he chose the commandment in Deuteronomy 6:5 that, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” We accordingly have come to recognize that the most important commandment is the love God with your whole self.

Then Jesus went the “second mile” (Matt 5:41) beyond what his questioner had asked, and offered insight on which commandment he considered the second greatest. This time Jesus looked to the book of Leviticus. Jesus, again, could have chosen any verse from the Torah to emphasize. Especially after choosing the love of God for the Greatest Commandment, perhaps it would have been logical to counterbalance this compassionate choice with a more “realistic” option; however, Jesus singled-out the essence of the following verse for the second greatest commandment: Lev 19:18, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (I have posted previously on Beatrice Bruteau’s emphasis on how radically, literally, and seriously we should take Jesus’ emphasis on the importance of learning to love your neighbor as yourself.)

Jesus was not alone in singling out the significance of Deuteronomy 6:5. Jews reflect the importance of this verse by chanting the Shema in worship each week. This practice raises the question for me of why the recitation of Jesus’ Greatest Commandments is not more central to Christian worship. I appreciate the Lord’s Prayer and the Doxology, but why don’t Christians sing the Greatest Commandments each week?

Does anyone know of a good musical setting of the Greatest Commandments? If so, please let me know in the comments section or via Facebook or Twitter.

The Rev. Carl Gregg is a trained spiritual director, a D.Min. candidate at San Francisco Theological Seminary, and the pastor of Broadview Church in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. Follow him on Facebook (facebook.com/carlgregg) and Twitter (@carlgregg).