What Is the
Greatest Rule of Life?
Introduction:
May you
continue to experience the great love GOD has for you and may you share that
love with others by the way you care for them.
The message that the world proclaims about love is “if it feels good, do it!” People are given the idea that love is the pleasurable act one gets from another person. It makes one feel warm and fuzzy. Yet if we read the Word of GOD, we find out that love is the decision to think of others more than ourselves. It means caring enough about others that one is willing to risk everything so that another knows that they are loved. That is exactly what Jesus did in His becoming human and living among us. It resulted in His death. Yet Jesus made the decision to do all He could so that people would come to know the great love GOD has for them and they in turn would share that message with others.
Today we are reminded of the two great commandments: “Love GOD” and “love one’s neighbour as oneself.” The section of the Mosaic law that is read today focuses on a couple of aspects of these two great commandments: no other divinity is to be worshiped except GOD, and the need to treat others fairly, especially the widows, the orphans, the aliens, and the poor. The psalm proclaims GOD as a source of strength and protection. In the Second Reading, St. Paul addresses the people of Thessalonika urging them to continue the acts of faith which they have already begun: turning away from idolatrous worship and caring for one another. In the Gospel, Jesus’ proclamation of the two great commandments comes in answer to the Pharisees’ attempt to trap Jesus in a situation that they could then use against Him.
Reflection: What is the purpose of God's law and commandments? The Pharisees prided themselves in the knowledge of the law of Moses and the ritual requirements of the law. They made it a lifetime practice to study the 613 precepts of the Torah - the books of the Old Testament containing the Law of Moses - along with the numerous rabbinic commentaries on the law. The religious authorities tested Jesus to see if he correctly understood the law as they did. Jesus startled them with his profound simplicity and mastery of the law of God and its purpose.
Commentary: These are the very primitive laws of the Old Testament, the heart of the first law code laid down for Israel in the desert of the Exodus before the Israelites even reached the Holy Land. ‘Primitive’? Does our modern society equal them and the values they express? The principle is to help everyone who needs help, even foreigners, widows, and orphans – just as God helped the Hebrews when they were slaves in Egypt. Men and women, made in the image of God, are God’s representatives on earth and must continue God’s work of caring and healing. Anyone in need must not be humiliated but must be given full human dignity and allowed to stand tall before his or her neighbours. The creditor may not enter the debtor’s house to hassle him, the worker must be paid on time to get his dinner, and the homeless must get back his cloak for the night. The vulnerable are not to be exploited. Jesus will put this, ‘You must love your neighbour as yourself’, but there too he is only quoting the Old Testament (Leviticus 19.18).
The psalmist describes GOD in terms of a great warrior and defender. GOD is the source of strength and the victor over the enemies of those who trust in the LORD. For the true believer, GOD is in control and the only thing that the believer must do is to acknowledge the supremacy of GOD.
Commentary: At every Mass after the consecration, we remind ourselves that Christ will come again, and the Thessalonians to whom Paul is writing were especially alert to this ‘Second Coming’ as they waited for Christ to come from heaven. Paul had taught them that Christ has conquered death, that death is no more, and they mistakenly took this to mean that Christians would not physically die. Paul will answer this difficulty later in the letter. We don’t know what this ‘Second Coming’ of Christ will be, but for Christians, history has a purpose and a direction. We do know that each of us will face Christ for our individual judgement when we die. There will be no question of Christ doling out suitable penalties to me. ‘No human being can see God and live’. Faced with the stunning purity of the glory of God I know that I will be filled with longing and love but will know that I am not fit to enter into the pure and overwhelming love of God. Only when the dross is purged away will I be fit to enter Christ’s embrace.
Commentary: Familiarity with Jesus’ answer to the question about the greatest commandment blunts our awareness of its startling directness. Answers could be given, singling out one of the ten commandments as the greatest, the most important basis of society. A frequent answer to the question was and is the Golden Rule, existing in many cultures: ‘Do not do to another what you would not have done to you’. This is basically a selfish answer, protecting my own interests. By contrast, Jesus’ answer slams home, turning away from self to God. ‘Love’, not ‘obey’ or ‘adore’ or ‘fear’ or ‘reverence’. Love is not the warmth of companionship or of sex but is the willing generosity of mother to helpless young child or daughter to helpless old parent, of wife to alcoholic husband or husband to paralysed wife, seeking no reward but the happiness of the receiver. Paul gives a useful checklist in First Corinthians 13. The First Letter of John gives a shorter checklist: ‘No one who fails to love the brother or sister whom he can see, can love God whom he has not seen’. The real interests of the recipient of love may not always be easy to find, but the spirit of giving is unmistakable.
God's love
rules all
Jesus summarized the whole of the law in two great commandments found in Deuteronomy 6:5 - "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might" - and Leviticus 19:18 - "you shall love your neighbour as yourself". God's love directs all that he does - His love is holy, just, and pure because it seeks only what is good, beneficial, and life-giving - rather than what is destructive, evil, or deadly. That is why he commands us to love - to accept and to give only what is good, lovely, just, and pure and to reject whatever is contrary.
God puts us
first in his thoughts
God is love and everything he does flows from his love for us (1 John 3:1, 4:7-8, 16). God puts us first in his thoughts and concerns - do we put him first in our thoughts? God loved us first (1 John 4:19) and our love for him is a response to his exceeding goodness and kindness towards us. The love of God comes first and the love of neighbour is firmly grounded in the love of God. The more we know of God's love, truth, and goodness, the more we love what he loves and reject whatever is hateful and contrary to his will. God commands us to love him first above all else - his love orients and directs our thoughts, intentions, and actions to what is wholly good and pleasing to him. He wants us to love him personally, wholeheartedly, and without any reservation or compromise.
The nature
of love - giving to others for their sake
What is the nature of love? Love is the gift of giving oneself for the good of others - it is wholly other-oriented and directed to the welfare and benefit of others. Love which is rooted in pleasing myself is self-centred and possessive - it is a selfish love that takes from others rather than gives to others. It is a stunted and disordered love that leads to many hurtful and sinful desires - such as jealousy, greed, envy, and lust. The root of all sin is disordered love and pride which is fundamentally putting myself above God and my neighbour - it is loving and serving self rather than God and neighbour. True love, which is wholly directed and oriented to what is good rather than evil, is rooted in God's truth and righteousness (moral goodness).
How God
loves us
God loves us wholly, completely, and perfectly for our sake - there is no limit, no holding back, no compromising on his part. His love is not subject to changing moods or circumstances. When God gives, he gives generously, abundantly, freely, and without setting conditions to the gift of his love. His love does not waver but is firm, consistent, and constant. He loves us in our weakness - in our fallen and sinful condition. That is why the Father sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to redeem us from slavery to sin and its disordered cravings, desires, passions, and addictions. God the Father always seeks us out to draw us to his throne of mercy and help. God the Father corrects and disciplines us in love to free us from the error of our wrong ways of thinking and choosing what is harmful and evil rather than choosing what is good and wholesome for us. Do you freely accept God's love, and do you willingly choose to obey his commandments?
We do not
earn God's love - it is freely given
How can we possibly love God above all else and obey his commandments willingly and joyfully, and how can we love our neighbour and be willing to lay down our life for their sake? Paul the Apostle tells us that "hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Romans 5:5). We do not earn God's love - it is freely given to those who open their heart to God and who freely accept the gift of the Holy Spirit. Ask the Lord Jesus to flood your heart with his love through the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Love grows
with faith and hope
What makes our love for God and his commands grow in us? Faith in God and hope in his promises strengthen us in the love of God. They are essential for a good relationship with God, and for being united with him. The more we know of God the more we love him and the more we love him the greater we believe and hope in his promises. The Lord Jesus, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, gives us a new freedom to love as he loves. Paul the Apostle writes, "For freedom Christ has set us free... only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh [sinful inclinations], but through love be servants of one another" (Galatians 5:1,13). Do you allow anything to keep you from the love of God and the joy of serving others with a generous heart?
Lord Jesus,
your love surpasses all. Flood my heart with your love and increase my faith
and hope in your promises. Help me to give myself in generous service to others
as you have so generously given yourself to me.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Loving God with heart, mind, and soul, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)
"Worthy is
he, confirmed in all his gifts, who exults in the wisdom of God, having a heart
full of the love of God, and a soul completely enlightened by the lamp of
knowledge and a mind filled with the word of God. It follows then that all such
gifts truly come from God. He would understand that all the law and the
prophets are in some way a part of the wisdom and knowledge of God. He would
understand that all the law and the prophets depend upon and adhere to the
principle of the love of the Lord God and of neighbour and that the perfection
of piety consists in love." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13)
LOVE LOVE
“I love You, O
Lord.” —Psalm 18:2
God is Love (1
Jn 4:8, 16). Because He is Love, we are in the image of Love, for we were
created in His image (Gen 1:27). Because He is Love, our sins against Him are
very serious — so serious that the nature of all human beings was wounded due
to the first sin. Because He is Love, God gave us the opportunity to become new
creations (see Jn 3:3, 5; Gal 6:15) by giving us His Son (Jn 3:16). Because God
is Love, He became a man to die on the cross and rise from the dead for our
salvation. Love became flesh (see Jn 1:14). Love had nails driven through Him
and thorns pressed into Him. Love became a bloody mess, brutally rejected and
gasping for breath. Love was buried; Love rose; and Love is enthroned in heaven
forever.
Because Love
first loved us, we love, Love (1 Jn 4:19). By His grace, we love, Love with all
our hearts, souls, minds, and strength (Lk 10:27; Mt 22:37). We love, Love by
loving ourselves, our neighbours (Mt 22:37-39), and even our enemies (Mt 5:44).
We live in Love (Jn 15:10).
Prayer: Lord and Love, may I live in You and You in
me (1 Jn 4:16). “You turned to God from idols, to serve Him Who is the living
and true God and to await from heaven the Son He raised from the dead — Jesus,
Who delivers us from the wrath to come.” —1 Thes 1:9-10. Praise You, risen Jesus. You live and reign
forevermore! All glory belongs to You.