"To Love God and Our Neighbor"

Today's Mass Readings

In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus explains the greatest commandment: Love God. However, Jesus adds a second one to the first: love your neighbor, which is an essential means of loving God. Loving God and loving neighbor are thus inseparable. Understanding and practicing these two commandments together would make Jesus say to us what he said to the scribe, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” In his response to the scribe, Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:5 and from Leviticus 19:18. Deuteronomy 6:5 reads, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” Notice Jesus adds in here loving God with your mind. Leviticus 19:18 states, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus is taking these two passages, and he maintains that they summarize all of God’s law. This highlights how all of God’s laws deal with the love of God and the love of neighbor. All of the rules and regulations we have are intended to help us love God and love neighbor. As Christians trying to follow Jesus, we should take Jesus’ words to heart and live them out in our own lives.

Lent is a perfect season for growing in the love of God and the love of neighbor. Perhaps we can meditate on this passage and come up with new ways for each one of us to love God through loving our neighbor. What are some ways we can serve our neighbors? What are some ways we can forgive our neighbors? Loving our neighbor can be a difficult task. Elsewhere in the Gospels, when Jesus is asked, “who is my neighbor?” He responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). Samaritans did not get along with Jews. Samaritans were considered outcasts. Sometimes they were even considered enemies.

It is difficult to be loving to those we consider enemies, those we consider outcasts with whom we do not wish to be associated, those with whom we do not get along. These too are our neighbors whom we must love as we love ourselves. During this Lent, let us take the extra effort to love and serve those we encounter whom we find it difficult to love.