When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
REFLECTION
"The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
Whether we like it or not, people watch us. They see when we falter, see when we excel and see our good and bad deeds. We are told in the Letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians that their faith which was shown in their good works reflect and imitate Christ, causing a chain of faith (or chain reaction) that continues in their lives.
Imagine, our faith, our good deeds noticed by others and if they like what they see then, they too, will be affected and infected with this living faith. "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
In today's Gospel, Jesus combines these two great commandments, making it very clear that you cannot have one without the other. We can't simply worship God and forget our neighbor, forget those in need because our needs are well taken care of. It is not so much about caring but about actually loving our neighbor--actually loving them as we love ourselves. If someone needs help what should be our response? Are we not appreciative when someone helps us whether we realize we need help or not?
We cannot say we are PAPA, praying for priests, but spread bad news of a priest. We cannot say our mission is to make disciples of all nations and be unkind to people. Do we pray as a family for the end of abortion, for the nascent baby? Do we share our faith by joining every Wednesday for FACE ZBS? We are responsible for one another.
Our priority is love of God and love of our neighbor. At the end of the day we should ask ourselves this question: did we love God above all and did we love our neighbor?
The way is God who is love. So if we are lost, we should ask ourselves where are we? Do we know where we are in our spiritual lives? Where are we going? Do we know where we are going or want to go? Do we know how to get there?
Still don't know what love is? Perhaps St Paul can help us.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails" (1 Cor 13:4-8).
Jesus Christ is the way. Follow Him and His commandments.
If we keep these two commandments, we should not have trouble following the other eight.
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