"Love the Lord your God, with all your heart . . . soul . . . mind
love your neighbor as yourself."
Matthew 22: 34-40
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102923.cfm
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Almighty ever-living God,
increase our faith, hope and charity,
and make us love what you command,
so that we may merit what your promise.
(Collect of Mass)
It has been said
sarcastically, that the “Church would be great if it wasn’t for people!” Anyone
in full time ministry, in the work of service to others, knows how both life
giving and frustrating serving others can be. Anytime one works with the
public, you are open to everything. So, “If people were not around, life would
be so much easier and peaceful. I could
take time for prayer and do all the things that saints speak about in seeking a
strong spiritual life and become holy. I
could enjoy all the beauty of music and art and celebrate the liturgy without
having to wonder about all those others who participate.”
Well, such sarcasm will only
produce a very lonely ministry and frankly, a boring life. The point of this little example is that as
our Gospel reminds us this Sunday, God has placed us in the midst of human
interaction. That our whole life is
designed for relationship and to imagine a Church without people is neither
Biblical nor Christian nor realistic. So, like it or not we are stuck with each
other which is the beautiful truth. But that is exactly the point of our
scriptures. The core and center of our
life is focused on a relationship both with God and with our brothers and sisters
and therefore both vertical and horizontal.
Today’s readings are very
familiar to us for we’ve heard them stated so often: love God and love your neighbor. It’s at the foundation of our Christian way
of life. Yet, what if I’m not loved in return?
What if I show kindness to another and all I receive back is a cold
shoulder, an insult, or an angry response?
To extend love to another is often more challenging than it sounds but
it can also become more rewarding than you ever imagined.
In other words, if we truly
love God then love would be the constant measure and force of my life. In
essence, we are to love who and what God loves – and that is everyone and all
that he has created. In fact, that is clearly the intent Jesus had when he
answered his deceptive inquirers in the Gospel passage this Sunday.
The Pharisees, hearing the Sadducees failed
in their attempt to trap Jesus after showing him the Roman coin with the image
of Caesar on it, now turn on him again. This
time it is a challenge to explain what might be at the core of the Jewish
covenant, a sacred law by which all righteous Jews would live. What is more
fundamental to their way of life than obedience to the Sacred Law which
governed everything from food, work, worship, and relationships with Jews and
non-Jews. The Pharisees above all were
the law police making sure that all Jews were following the proper
prescriptions.
So, they ask Jesus, of all
the laws which govern the life of the Jews enumerated in the first books of the
Torah, which is the greatest? Jesus once
again turns the question on them and states the sacred Shma: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all
your heart … soul … and mind.” This is the greatest and something they would
have agreed with but then he goes a step farther: “The second is ‘like’ it: You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.” While his
audience would have been familiar with the sacred love of neighbor, Jesus
states that in essence the way to love God is to love your neighbor. It’s not
about the law as much as it is about charity in action. Your love for God is
expressed through your love of neighbor.
In the view of God, everyone is your neighbor for his love is universal.
The most unique thing is that Jesus put both on the same level thereby as a blend of two laws as one. “The second is like it . . .” Jesus said. Thus, it is one sacred law with two do-equal parts: love God and love your neighbor. If we love what God loves, then our love is without borders, it is inclusive and extensive of everything God has made and all he loves. Jesus,' the incarnate Word of God who speaks, captures for his listeners and for us the very heart of the law. This is how God sees it for us.
How often do we get love
tangled up in our feelings, however? Love is how you feel about another person,
therefore my negative feelings towards another, even if I can justify, they are
undeserving, qualify my love. How can I
love a stranger, the person walking down the street, the parishioner in the pew
I’ve never spoken to, the man whose skin is darker than mine or who dresses shabbily
or who speaks a different language, how can I have warm and fuzzy feelings
towards someone who has done wrong and deserves punishment?
Stop! It is right to know
that our Lord is not speaking of feelings for another but rather about behavior.
My attraction or my feelings are simply emotions – that’s not love. True love
is a choice I make; a movement towards another to do good for them, regardless
of who they are. To love is to will good for the other regardless of my
emotions for them. It is possible and
right to love another for whom I feel nothing in particular: the stranger walking down the street, a disheveled
person who approaches you on a cold night in a parking lot asking for money,
the one who has spoken harsh about me, or a person in need anywhere that I
might notice or encounter, etc. In relationship with each other, we show our
love for God. Remember Jesus washed the
feet of his disciples the night before he died and stated clearly: “As I have
done, so you must do.” Then he offered them the greatest act of love in the Holy
Eucharist the night before he sacrificed himself for our sake.
What will I do to show my
love for God? All depends on the
situation and the need that is present.
Give the one who asks for money on a cold night, a warm piece of your
own clothing? How about a sincere smile and “hello” as you pass by or a kind
comment on something you notice they are doing?
To offer a simple assistance to someone who asks for help? To resist
judging another person who looks and speaks differently than you or is caught
at a different economic level than you? I think we can find endless examples of
how we can contribute to the common good and share our love for God.
In closing, let me illustrate
this through an ordinary personal example.
The other day I was shopping for groceries in the early evening. It was getting dark and was cold enough to
wear a warm jacket.
As I was putting the items
in my car, a man approached me who was clearly “on the street” and politely asked
for some money. My usual skepticism
stepped in and my initial resistance, but I knew I had a few dollars in my
pocket, so I gave it to him. He thanked
me, went on his way to the other side of the lot near the entrance to the
store, where he sat down on the sidewalk, covered in a blanket that I’m sure
had not been washed in some time.
As I was getting in my car,
I had the strongest desire to go to him and offer him the coat I was wearing,
but sadly I did not do so. I had another coat and sweaters at home but for some
selfish reason on my part, I watched him for a short time, then drove off. As I write these words, I feel a sense of
guilt knowing I had resisted a call from God to love my neighbor. A lesson learned indeed. As a priest, you think I would know better
but nonetheless, do not resist the grace of God when a moment arrives.
This is the way it is and
the way Jesus, the Son of God, has proposed for us. Imagine for a moment, as naïve as it may
seem, that all in the world lived this way – it would be heaven on earth. And
maybe that is the point of Jesus commanding us to love God and our
neighbor. In that way, we not only have
a Church filled with people, but a collection of persons who model the Kingdom
of God to bring hope to a very troubled world around us.
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