THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT
First Reading: Deuteronomy 6: 2-6
Second Reading: Hebrews 7: 23-28
Gospel Reading: Mark 12: 28-34
*First reading is from the book of Deuteronomy. Moses asks the people of Israel to love the Lord their God and to obey His commandments. He instructs them that the Lord God wants their wholehearted obedience to His commandments and not mere lip service. If they do, he promised them that Lord God will bless them abundantly and will give them a land flowing with milk and honey.
*Second reading is from the letter of St. Paul to Hebrews. Jesus is exemplified as the perfect High Priest, holy and blameless, who offered himself once and for all for sinners and continues to intercede for them. It was not necessary for Him to offer sacrifices daily like other high priests who are appointed by the law. Because they are weak in nature.
Love of God and love of neighbour Today's Gospel reading is from St. Mark. A very important question is put to Jesus by a scribe: "Which is the greatest commandment?" The answer to the question could be innumerable. In His answer Jesus gives not one but two commandments. He tells the scribe, "Love your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your soul", which is a quote from the book of Deuteronomy. Then Jesus adds a verse from the book of Leviticus, "And you shall love your neighbour as yourself." Jesus' simple statements embrace everything we need to do to serve God. Every action of our lives is included in these two laws. He demands a radical change in our lives. When we love other people we are loving people in the image and likeness of God. We cannot love God and hate others. First of all, the love of God demands a wholehearted commitment from us. It does not begin and end with Sunday services but rather God becomes the center and source of our very being. Secondly, love of neighbour means goodwill that is boundless and extends to those for whom we have no personal liking and they may not even belong to our family, clan or nationality. The perfect example of the love of neighbour is narrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Hence for Jesus, love of neighbour has no boundaries or barriers. In other words, love of God and love of neighbour are two sides of the same coin. Love of God cannot exist without love of neighbour and vice versa. God has bestowed on us the great power to love where mere matter - our mind, our intellect, our will and our whole self- is spontaneously converted to the immense love of God and the love of neighbour. Jesus is asking us to follow this instinct of love.
"How can I love God and not care for His image?" - St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
"Whatsoever you do to the least of these my brothers you do to me." - Matthew 25: 40
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