Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope
I keep hearing how we are living in unprecedented times. Sometimes I think, “hasn’t that always been the case?” No one else has lived on these days, so they are always unprecedented, right? But now, everything we have come to expect has been thrown out the window. There is no such thing as a “typical” day and no way to truly make plans for a future date. These are unprecedented times. Times when the future depends on our collective response. One individual alone cannot change the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. One individual alone cannot bring an end to systemic racism and injustice. One individual alone cannot live his or her life without being affected by the decisions of other people. We are in this together, whether we like it or not, and the only way to make progress is to care for one another. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This commandment is critically important in these unprecedented times.
Yet, it is the second greatest commandment, not the first. As Jesus shares in today’s Gospel from Matthew, our love for the Lord, our God, with our whole heart, soul, and mind is the greatest and the first commandment. Focusing on our interior, personal love of God must come first, kind of like putting on our own oxygen mask first when flying. If we do not love God, we cannot truly love others. In today’s first reading, it does not matter how much Ezekiel loves those dry bones, they are not going to come alive without God’s help. We must learn to love and depend on God if we are going to make a difference in the world. We cannot do it alone.
In April, Franciscan Fr. Casey Cole made a YouTube video reflecting on whether our freedoms are being taken away during the pandemic response. Although there are many interesting points in the video, one that I continue returning to is the idea that, as Fr. Cole says, “God does not want us to be independent – God wants us to depend on him, to need him, to do everything we can to obey and honor him by doing what is pleasing in his sight...” I kind of cringed when I first listened to that line. Maybe I’m still at a point in my life when I want to be independent, when I don’t want to be told what to do (I’m not sure I will ever outgrow that). I felt like this statement made God seem controlling and selfish, which is the complete opposite of my understanding of God. Thankfully, Fr. Cole goes on to explain, “...this means a life of peace and justice, a life of loving one’s neighbor as oneself, a life of caring for the common good as God’s stewards.” Now that makes sense. I can certainly stand behind that. I want to live that kind of life and it seamlessly blends the first and second commandments. Love the Lord, your God, but don’t just express your love with words. Show that love through your actions and the ways you love your neighbor.
Even when things go back to “normal” and we are no longer living in “unprecedented” times, these commandments will not change. So let’s get in the habit now of loving our neighbor, of making decisions to benefit others, of minimizing the focus on ourselves and elevating the common good. Love God through loving our neighbor with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind.
Blessings,
LeeAnn