Thursday in the Ninth Week of Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading and gospel passage both feature the word “with.” Now, granted, “with” is not the kind of word that normally stands out. It’s a preposition, meaning that it serves to make a connection between two other words or phrases. But it stands out today because the connection it makes seems so important. In St. Paul’s second letter to Timothy today, we encounter “with” in a well-known passage: “If we have died with him we shall also live with him; if we persevere, we shall also reign with him” (2 Tm. 2:11-12). These short sentences tell us something about life as a Christian. It is not life alone, it is life with Christ. Christians die with Christ, live with Christ, and ultimately, reign with Christ in heaven. We share Christ’s sufferings, Christ’s joys, and Christ’s final glory. Paul himself is performing this passage as he writes it; he is suffering for Christ in the hopes that others may share in this life with Christ. Again, the life of a Christian is not solitary. It is life with Christ and for Christ, with others and for others.
The gospel passage also presents the word “with” in a profound context. Here, Jesus borrows some of the language from the well-known “shemah” – a saying that would have been memorized by the Jews at the time (and is still memorized by Jews today). Here the “with” describes loving God: “with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (cf. Mk. 12:30). As you can see, this is quite different than “loving” chocolate chip cookies. It’s a personal, dedicated love directed toward God, and the scribe agrees with Jesus that this is the most important of the commands. Moreover, the scribe also agrees on the second most important commandment, to love one’s neighbor as oneself. Again, we see here that the Christian life is not a life alone – the very act of love draws us out of ourselves, manifesting itself in love of God and neighbor. This is life with God. This is life for God.
As we live out these readings today, let us reflect on our own lives with God and for God. As Christians, we ought to die with Christ and to live with Christ. We ought to love God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. Moreover, we ought to share this Christian life with others. We will likely not suffer the persecution of Charles Lwanga and companions, but nonetheless we will encounter struggles, sometimes even brought on by ourselves and our own selfishness. Let us pray that God grant us the grace to live with Christ in everything that we do today and always.
- Maria Morrow