“The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of
art is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy,
it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, it's indifference.” ―
Elie Wiesel: (an American Romanian-born Jewish writer, professor, Holocaust
survivor, and Nobel Laureate.)
Gospel
Text: (MK 12:28-34)
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
“Which is the first of all the commandments?”
Jesus replied, “The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than
these.”
The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and
sacrifices.”
And when Jesus saw that he answered with
understanding,
he said to him, “You are not far from the
Kingdom of God.”
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Love, quite obviously, is the common
denominator between these two commands: “Love the Lord completely,” and “Love
your neighbor as yourself.” Understanding these two as one means having Christ
at the center of our entire spiritual focus: seeing in Christ our neighbor, and
seeing in Christ our Lord and God. So we are to love others as Christ has loved
us.
But we must even go one step further. We are to
love others so that others will love as Christ has loved us. Not merely are we
to give our lives for others. We are so to have an effect on others that they
in turn will do the same. But how is this possible? We cannot control the
decisions of others. Even if we love them they may hate us in turn. God’s grace
makes all things possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment