In today’s Gospel, when the scribe asks, “Which is the first of all the commandments?”, Jesus repeats what Moses taught the Israelites long ago – in the very words we find in today’s first reading: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Then Jesus immediately adds an extension of this commandment of love to include “your neighbor” and “yourself”: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The scribe gets it. He knows that this double commandment of love is far better than any exterior worship, “worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
When God chose to reveal himself to mankind, he spoke through Moses and the prophets, giving them commandments and laws to bring civility, unity, and order to his Chosen People. God related to them like a loving father. Parents love their children and want them to grow and become healthy in mind, body, and spirit. This growth does not happen all at once. It requires a great and persevering effort on the part of the parents and the children. Parents must love and teach their children, making many sacrifices for them. Children must listen to and obey their parents, yielding to their authority and letting themselves be guided in wisdom. Parents must strive to offer unconditional love, reflecting the love of our heavenly Father. This is not easy, especially when we are dealing with a rebellious child. Without love, it would be impossible. But with love – that is, with the power of God, for God is Love – it is possible for us to love all of his children.
Today’s selection from the Letter to the Hebrews gives us an explanation of how this divine love is made available through the ministry of Jesus Christ, our great High Priest. Unlike the Levitical priests, whose priestly ministry always came to an end when they died, Jesus “has a priesthood that does not pass away.” He has conquered death and lives forever. He is the eternal High Priest – “holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens” – who reconciles us to the Father. Through his sacrifice, offered in perfect love, we receive the power to fulfill the commandments of love as well.
Love always involves sacrifice and suffering. Love is a decision, and in that decision, we must deal with the entire range of our human reactions. When we love, we choose the good of the other, and this puts us in third place, behind God and our neighbor! Sometimes this makes us feel like we are dying – and in a sense, we are: dying to the cries and demands of our flesh. The good news is that every time we decide to love as God wills us to love, there is a rising, a resurrection. Love unites us to the Lord in his suffering and in his rising. In the moment of our sacrifice, we may not feel this resurrection – very often, we do not – but we can know it in faith.
There is no limit to the Lord’s love, and he asks us not to limit our love. Thus, he calls for love with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Because this intimidates us, we are often afraid to learn more about love, and, like the scribes in today’s Gospel, we do not dare to ask any more questions. We set limits on how far we will go in loving. It is a tragic error to limit love because in doing so, we limit ourselves. The commandments of love do not limit us but expand us. Indeed, the more we love, the more we grow, and the more we become like God. When we respond to the call of the Lord, he assures us, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God!”
When do I find it most difficult to love God? When do I find it most difficult to love my neighbor? In what situations or relationships have I limited my love? What is my experience of choosing to love and discovering growth in the way of love?
Excerpt from The Anawim Way, Volume 20, no. 8. More information about The Anawim Way may be found here.