“If you are there for the Lord, He will be there for you. If you love Him and keep His commandments, you will have His Spirit to be with you and guide you.”

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. – St John: (6 - 100 AD: the son of Zebedee and Salome, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus)

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.

According to the gospel reading, a single Word, which is near us and is in our hearts, is summed up as LOVE – love of God and love of neighbor.

Love of God and love of neighbor are like the two wings of a bird.  As much as a bird cannot fly on only one wing so we cannot claim to love God while we hate our neighbor.  

Therefore, let us sustain our flight to heaven on the two wings of love of God and neighbor, amen!