As there were a lot of rules and regulations in the Jewish religion at the time of Jesus, one of the scribes wanted to know which one was first of the commandments. In his answer, Jesus gave more that he was asked for: the first being to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and the second being to love our neighbor as ourselves. In that way, Jesus was showing that these two commandments are inseparable. We cannot love God without loving our neighbor, and in loving our neighbor we are, at the same time, loving God.

Yet, the two commandments are not on the same level, one is first and one is second. It is the love of God which is to be the primary love in our lives. We owe the greatest devotion to God. As Jesus says in one of the other Gospels, ‘Seek first the kingdom of God’. God as revealed in Jesus is to be our greatest love. If we are caught up into a loving relationship with God, it will overflow into a love of all those whom God loves, and our various human loves for other people will reflect something of God’s love for them.

As a parish community here at Saint Raymond’s, we are all called the Lord to keep striving to love Him with all our being, all our heart, soul, mind and strength, in the words of the Gospel reading. When we love the Lord in this way, we will begin to love others with the Lord’s own love. That is a goal worth seeking; it gives meaning and direction to our lives.

Sono semipro grate,
Father Erick

(For the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time)