SundayGospelReflection.org

Gospel Reflection 20061105

Lord, Give me patience—and give it to me RIGHT NOW!Patience is to act calmly, without unnecessary hurry or worry, even when provoked or stressed.

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Not Far from the KingdomNovember 5, 2006Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mark 12:28b-34One 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.
Introductory Prayer: Jesus Christ, where else can I turn each day but to you? One day, I will make that final turn to you and it will last for all eternity. Yet as in everything else, you set the pace, you take the initiative, and you are the protagonist. You will turn and look my way first and I, as I strive daily to do, will respond and gaze back into your eyes. May this moment of prayer be once again a rehearsal for that final turn to you. Amen.
Petition:Lord, teach me to walk the way of unselfish love.
1. Mapping It Out! All of us can admire a comprehensive and faithful love. In Christ´s interaction with the scribe in today´s Gospel, we have this love spelled out for us. This is the great commandment. This is the key to our lives. This is a simple, all-embracing principle by which to live. Moreover, this is exactly what a "click-here" world wants. We want to simplify our lives. Christ makes the map of our life simple. We need to act out of love for God and unite all our strength, heart, soul and mind in this one endeavor: Love God. Are we complicating our lives unnecessarily?
2. Eyes on the Destination! Jesus Christ has made of his earthly life a perfect example of how we are to live. He demonstrates an unclouded love. He is truly single-hearted! He loves his father with all his heart, soul, mind and strength. We need to keep our eyes on Christ as our final destination. We can imitate him in his love for his Father. As Roman Guardini states, "The Lord’s entire life proceeds from his Father’s will. But it is in this [wisdom] that he is truly himself. He is truly himself in that he does not do his own will, but the will of his Father, and so fulfills the deepest and most private principle of his being. There is a word for this: love!” Could it be simpler?
3. Not Far! If we want to reach a destination, the shortest path is a straight line. When we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, we are straightening that trajectory. If there are other loves, competitive loves, loves that leave God out of our actions, making us change momentum in all sorts of directions, we are not going to be close to the Kingdom. Can we not unite everything in this single-hearted love for God? If we do, then every email, phone call, meal, sporting event, errand, business meeting and class -- absolutely everything -- takes us to the Kingdom and not away from it.
Dialogue with Christ:Lord, I want a single-hearted life. I was made for you, and my heart will be restless until it rests in you. Instruct me in a love for you that will be exercised in all I do today and every day of my life until I surrender my heart, soul, mind and strength to you for all eternity.
Resolution:I will consciously live as much of this day as possible as an exercise of love for God, offering him each moment, activity and prayer.

REFLECTION:

The Two Great Commandments were well-known to the people of Jesus’ time. Rather than referring them back to the Ten Commandments and inciting an argument over which one He chose, Jesus instead quoted from two of the books of their beloved Torah: Deuteronomy 6:5 (You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.) and Leviticus 19:18 (You shall love your neighbor as yourself.). Jesus uses these commandments to reinforce the truth that the basis of all of God’s laws is love -- love for Him and love for each other. These two loves are so intertwined that we cannot truly “love one and hate the other.” The love of neighbor starts in our own homes where we practice the fine points of daily love on each other and then reach outside the home to others. The best way to build this love for God and neighbor is through prayer, especially family prayer.
When we pray we ought to turn to God with the attitude of Judith in the Old Testament. When the Israelites did not bow to the gods of the Assyrians, King Nebuchadnezzar set out to destroy them. A wealthy and beautiful young Israeli widow, Judith, devised a clever scheme for delivering Israel from the attackers. The Israelite leaders had prayed for deliverance and “made a deal” that if God did not deliver them in five days, they would surrender themselves. She scolded them: “Who are you that you should put God to the test? . . . . “For if he does not wish to come to our aid within five days, he has it within his power to protect us at such time as he pleases.” (Jud 8: 12, 15) Judith’s plan worked wonderfully well with much prayer for God’s help – and within the five days! Instead of holding God to our own timetable, we should submit to Him in faith. We know that He will never let us down because He wants our souls with Him. His answer may not be the one we want, but it will be real. We should pray intensely that we won’t let Him down, either.
God has the absolute authority and power to demand obedience from us. He prefers to allow us to decide for ourselves if we love Him enough to obey all His commandments. In both Old and New Testaments, we are told that God prefers loving obedience over any kind of sacrifice. [“Obedience is better than sacrifice.”{1 Sam 16:22] Jesus looked at the scribe in the Gospel with admiration because the man seemed to understand perfectly that an obedience motivated by love is much more valuable to God than any self-serving act motivated by a desire to avoid punishment. One thing is certain: God is the only authority figure we will ever know whose motive is purely and lovingly selfless in asking obedience to His Word. Our obedience does not add anything to God, nor does our disobedience take anything away from Him. He does not need our obedience; He only wants our souls to be worthy of His love. He hungers for our presence with Him in heaven so that He can share our own joy at being with Him.
It should seem relatively easy to love God who gives us everything from the moment He breathes life into our soul in the womb. The problem is that so often He seems to be a distant God because we think we cannot walk and talk with Him like we would anyone else we love. We have to remind ourselves that He is, indeed, NOT distant. Rather, He is at our side at all times, even though we cannot see Him. We can talk to Him with our thoughts. We do not even have to use words or think logically, because He can translate what we are trying to say or what we are feeling.
Loving our neighbor is quite a bit harder in most cases. We all have family and friends for whom we have a lot of affection, but what about the person who cheated us out of our rightful change, the kids who stepped on our flowers, the slow driver who made us late, or the repair man who ignores our calls? The definition of love is not simply a desire to embrace and show affection for someone. Love is defined by our willingness to wish no harm, to wish only good, to seek no revenge on someone whether we like them or not. That is the kind of love that obeys the commandments. In many ways, God was the first proponent of “tough love.”
We also know people who have traits which make it almost impossible for us to love them in this way. Tell God all your arguments and excuses for not loving someone. Let Him hear your objections so He can help you receive the light of His mercy and generosity. God created all of us but made sure each of us would be a unique individual. Could there be people who find it difficult to love us? Best of all, work on showing love for the people in your life, even those who are not easy to love. Just imagine the expanse of Christ’s love for us that He was willing to suffer and die so horribly in order to give us a chance at eternal happiness. Most of us will never be asked to die for Christ, but the goal of every Catholic should be to die in Christ’s friendship.


Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary TimeNovember 5, 2006

THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY
The Old Testament contains a series of images and promises which are fulfilled in the mystery of Jesus. The old covenant given through Moses to the Jews is to be kept by observing the commandments. Their reward for doing so would be the gift of long life and prosperity in the fruitful land of Israel. Even today, devout Jews recite their promise to God every day in the Shema Israel: "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone!Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength". Jesus was very pleased with the sincerity of the scribe who came to him seeking truth for his understanding of the importance of the commandment to love one's fellow man.
Jesus is the perfect model of obedience to the Father and love of neighbor. His love for his Father is reflected in his love for God's children. The Sermon on the Mount shows us the good and loving Father as seen through the eyes of Jesus. God provides for all our needs and He has promised long life (eternal life) to those who believe in the Lord Jesus. The long life promised through Moses is the image of eternal life promised by Jesus.
Bishop Sheen used to say that "goodness is diffusive of itself, that God had to share his beauty, his love and his joy with us, and that is why He created us.Jesus, the perfect image of the Father, had to show us the love od the Father. He had to share the Father's joy with us. Everything that He did, His words of consolation and hope, his gentle, healing touch, manifested the Father's love for us.
We cannot force anyone to love us. Like Jesus, we must love eachother freely to experience the joy of giving. The new commandment to love one another is really an invitation to share in His joy and the creative joy of His Father.
We know from experience that using our charisms and talents is spiritually very satisfying and fulfilling, especially if our love is spontaneous, like the love of Jesus.How are we going to imitate Jesus this week?

31st Sunday in Ordinary TimeNovember 5, 2000
Homily Code: RR-1
The internet is fantastic. We can surf the internet and look for answers on any subject. God gave Moses only Ten Commandments. The Israelites added 613 rules, each of which had 20 to 30 subtitles to the Ten Commandments. These external laws were to guide their lives and make them holy. Adding more laws even if a computer were available was not the way to go. More laws added result in more confusion. It’s like our tax laws. Scribes were the experts for interpreting the law. Nearly all the scribes opposed Jesus. The scribes would try to trick, confront or challenge Jesus. The scribe in today’s gospel simply came to Jesus and asked, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. Jesus answered the scribe’s simple question with an answer that was simple. The answer was the one commandment of love. The Commandments are like ten pieces of a picture puzzle. They are not pieces that are separated. Put together, they form a picture of God’s love. God gives us His love first. We are bound with our neighbors to God as one by love. Break any of the commandments and we break the law of love. Breaking any of the commandments against God also offends our neighbor. Breaking any of the commandments against our neighbor also offends God. Jesus also told the scribe, You shall love the Lord your God with all you mind. Love must come from the free will of our hearts and minds. We have to change. Love for God comes first, love for neighbor second, and love for ourselves is third and obviously last. That’s opposite to what the world teaches. Our hearts and minds must be the source of our love for God and neighbor. The Commandments cannot be outside of us like traffic signs ordering us what to do or not to do or else. Piling on more external laws even if we use a computer would not fine tune or make the Ten Commandments perfect. Love for God and neighbor from our hearts makes the Ten Commandments perfect. Living that kind of love will make perfect whatever we do. Jesus fulfilled the Ten Commandments without adding, subtracting or destroying the Ten Commandments.
The Spirit’s gift of knowledge, understanding and wisdom was poured into the scribe’s mind in response to his simple question. There is no greater commandment than love for God and neighbor and this was worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. Burnt offerings and sacrifices are external and could too easily be for show and not come with love from the heart. Jesus saw that the scribe understood the revelation of love in the Commandments and said, You are not far from the kingdom of God.
We received the Spirit’s gifts when we were confirmed. The Spirit of God also lives in our hearts to help sanctify us. We even are given the gift of the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus in the Eucharist to give us the graces to change and keep the commandment of love from our hearts and minds. We are given the graces to give ourselves completely to God. We allow ourselves to be used by God’s love to live the spirit of the law of love in everyday things we do. We can teach our children or grandchildren the Ten Commandments. They may not understand the Commandments, but they are seeds planted in their memory banks. With the Holy Spirit in their hearts, with our faith, prayers and instructions, those gifts to know, understand and have the wisdom of love for the Ten Commandments will be opened to them also.
31st Sunday in Ordinary TimeNovember 5, 2000
Homily Code: X-4
This homily may seem to be somewhat serious but these are serious times. Today, the first reading and the gospel both refer to the commandments. Regarding the commandments, some individuals might observe, “I’m not a Catholic or a Christian, so the commandments don’t pertain to my life.” Theologians teach that the commandments are written on the soul of everyone at birth and that, in truth, everyone knows what is right and wrong.
It’s not difficult to prove this concept. If you asked anyone the question, “Would you like someone to steal from you, to lie to you or to kill you?”, the response would probably be, “Of course not!” It seems everyone is aware of what is right and wrong when it pertains to how others treat them but not necessarily convinced they, as individuals, should treat others the same way.
For me, preaching on the commandments is difficult. Why? Because it involves discussing sin and I am a sinner. How can I preach to others about sin when I, like everyone else, am a sinner. I preach on this topic for one simple reason. Preachers are bound by the same directive as the Apostles. Jesus said, “Go and teach all nations.”
There are commandments. Those who disobey the commandments are not obeying God and there can be penalties. If a society, as a whole, disobeys God’s commandments, disaster can follow. In the Old Testament we read of the penalties paid by the Jewish people for corrupt regimes which strayed from obedience to Yahweh. Disasters were prophesied and because they did not repent, the Jews were banished, at different times, to Egypt and to Babylon.
There are examples of other situations in which an entire nation paid the price for not heeding the word of God. The most recent was Nazi Germany. Like the ancient Israelites, Hitler and the other leaders of Germany created a godless nation and a godless society. They did not hide their plans. When the first signs of the Holocaust appeared in Germany many citizens did not get involved because the violence was directed at a minority race. As it became more apparent that Hitler had a gruesome plan for eliminating the Jews, what was the reaction of ministers and priests in Germany? Silence. Those few who spoke against the atrocities were eliminated. What was the reaction of the German people and the German clergy? Silence! There was no outcry.
Eventually the punishment endured by the German people in defeat was enormous. Their nation was divided they were starving and their famous industrial complex lay in ruins. They left God, they ignored His commandments and, like the Israelites, they were severely punished.
What was the extent of the Holocaust? Five million Jews lost their lives but, strangely enough, we don’t hear much about the 5,000,000 others who lost their lives. They were members of the clergy, the aged and the infirm and those who opposed the Nazi regime. Many people died. Most were just ordinary citizens.
It might be well if we make some comparisons. Here in the United States over 35 million unborn children have been sacrificed on the altar of abortion. In our entertainment industry not much attention is paid to God’s sixth and ninth commandments. The 8th commandment addresses lying and that one has also been taking a beating lately.
Recently, the purveyors of pornography in the movies and on television recently arrogantly indicated to a government committee that they would not cease advertising their product to under aged children. While that was happening, they continued to contribute huge sums of money to political candidates and their money was accepted.
Who is speaking out against these atrocities? Could Germany’s fate be visited upon our country? Instead of answering that question some might say, “We must not mix religion with partisan politics.” Well, as I recall, John the Baptist lost his head because of partisan politics. He spoke out against the adulterous union between King Herod and Herodius. And wasn’t Jesus Christ crucified because of partisan politics? He disagreed with the Jewish religious leaders and they called for His crucifixion. Even Pilate, the reigning Roman official, said he could find no fault with Him but He was executed anyway.
Following the suicide of Judas, 10 of the remaining apostles were martyred for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. They preached the commandments. They preached against sin. They preached punishment. As John the Baptist before them and as the Prophets of the Old Testament, they called the people to “Repent” and to return to obedience to the commandments of God. They paid with their lives, as partisan politicians condemned them for preaching the Word of God.
Here in our country we have a unique form of government. It’s called democracy! In this form of government the people decide whether they will be ruled by the laws of God or by the whims of men and women in office. The problem with this form of government is that all the people are responsible for the conduct of those who rule because the people determine who is elected.
As a result, our whole nation is at risk. If God has punished other nations in the past for not obeying His commands, then if our nation strays from His path, it would seem we could also be collectively punished. Some might say, “You're talking politics?” Was John the Baptist talking politics or was he preaching the Word of God? Did Jesus get involved in politics or was He following the course laid out for Him by His Father? Were the apostles politicians or messengers of Jesus Christ?
At the present time we can speak out against the excesses in our own society but, beware! In some states it can be deemed illegal to criticize as immoral the conduct of some fellow citizens. It is illegal because doing so could be interpreted as a “hate crime”.
Make no mistake, if the Israelites who turned from God and if the citizens of Nazi Germany who were silent during the Holocaust were punished for not speaking out against those who broke God’s commandments then it would seem only just that other nations which follow in their footsteps could expect similar treatment.
In two days, we will decide what course our nation takes. We have a great opportunity. We are free. However, freedom is a gift of God and our forefathers expounded on that gift in the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. Many died for their principles but those who survived gave thanks to God and formed “one nation, under God”.
We are at a crossroads and if the fear of being accused of partisan politics or the fear of losing a tax exemption stands in our way of proclaiming the will of God, then I fear for our nation. There are commandments, there are sins and there are rewards or punishments. Each of, individually, must decide which path our nation will follow. Will we condemn our children to the same fate suffered by the Israelites and the German people?
SERMON: "Not Far From The Kingdom of God" Let us Pray - Nurturing God - we do not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from you mouth. Make us hungry for this heavenly food and pour it down upon us - that the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts may draw us closer to thee and lead us to walk in the way of life. Amen As we meditate today on God's word - that word found in the gospel readingwherein we see a scribe, a teacher of the law, ask Jesus which of thecommandments of God was first of all - most important of all, I want you tothink not only about Jesus' answer - the answer that goes (as we read inverse 29) "Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord Your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength - and - you shall love your neighbour as yourself" but I want you to think as well about the Scribe's response to Jesus reply. About how the Scribe affirms Jesus and the truth of God by saying: "You are right teacher.... this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices" and how then Jesus recognizes the wisdom of the scribe and says to him, ashe says to no other teacher of the law, to no other scribe that we haverecord of in this book: "You are not far from the kingdom of God" What interesting words these are...You are not far from the kingdom of God. I thought about these words all this week. And the more I thought aboutthem the more I wondered and marvelled at them. What interesting words - when applied to a scribe - when applied to amember of a class of persons that so often are portrayed negatively in thegospels. - to that class of persons so many of us have been taught were more concerned about the letter of the law than the spirit; more concerned with observance than with the motivation behind observance. It just goes to show that there is wisdom in the law of Godand that those who study it - can find the truth within it;- the truth that love is more important than sacrificeand that mercy is more important than burnt offerings,and that these things are that from which all laws worthy of the name flow. You are not far from the Kingdom of God.You who really try to do what is right.You who believe that God is One and that God is Good - and that to love him and your neighbour as yourself is what God's willfor us is all about. You are not far from the Kingdom of God. Good words to hear from the teacherfrom the one who bears the Kingdom within his very beingand radiates the light of that kingdom for all to see. Yet - yet in the words "not far" - it is possible also to hear that "thereis some distance yet to go", that we are on the right track - but we havenot yet arrived. In a park in Europe, so I have been told, next to a beautiful flower bed,there is a sign, written in three languages: In German the sign says: Picking flowers is prohibited. In English: Please do not pick the flowers. In French: Those who love flowers will not pick them. It seems to me that in this sign lies part of the key as to whatdistinctions of distance we might read into Jesus' statement: "You are not far from the kingdom of God". What is our motivation for doing God's will, obeying God's commands? Fearof authority? A desire for God's approval? And the approval of others? Or love? What in fact does it mean "to love God"?What does it mean "to love our neighbours as ourselves?" One wonders - at least this one does - one wonders when looking at thescribe in today's reading if he lacked a little something in his passionand in his understanding of the law of God? If perhaps there was a littlebit too much duty and routine in his life of obedience and not quite enougheagerness and passion? A bit too much holiness - of being apart from theworld - and not quite the right amount of compassion and of empathy? Whatever it is - if there is anything - that implies a sense of distancebetween the scribe and the Kingdom of God -- in a most profound sense itdoes not matter; it is enough most surely for him, and for us, to hear thewords "you are not far from the kingdom of God". You of sincere heart and sincere purposeyou who believe and who try to do what is rightyou who try to love as God wants you to loveare not far from the kingdom of God. A story: A thoughtful, curious young man went to the desert to visit an elderly man, a monk, who had lived in the desert for many years. Arriving at the holy man's cave, the young man encountered the monk, who was sitting out enjoying the sun, his dog lying lazily at his side. This spiritual seeker asked, "Why is it, teacher, that some who seek God come to the desert and are zealous in prayer, but leave after a year or so, while others, like you, remain faithful to the quest for a lifetime?" The old man smiled and replied, "Let me tell you a story. One day I was sitting here quietly in the sun with my dog. Suddenly a large, white rabbit ran across in front of us. Well, my dog jumped up, barking loudly, and took off after that big rabbit. He chased the rabbit over the hills with a passion. Soon other dogs ran barking across the creeks, up stony embankments, and through thickets and thorns! Gradually, however, one by one, the other dogs dropped out of the pursuit, discouraged by the course and frustrated by the chase. Only my dog continued to hotly pursue the white rabbit. In that story, young man, is the answer to your question. The young man sat in confused silence. Finally, he said, "Teacher, I don't understand. What is the connection between the rabbit chase and the quest for God?" "You fail to understand," answered the old hermit, "because you failed to ask the obvious question. The question is, why didn't the other dogs continue the chase? And the answer to that question is that the other dogs had not seen the rabbit. They were attracted by the barking of my dog. But once you see the rabbit, you will never give up the chase. Seeing the rabbit, and not following the commotion, is what keeps me in the desert." "Hear O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the LordYour God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all yourmind, and with all your strength - and - you shall love your neighbour asyourself" You shall love. Shall love?? How can we not love? How can we who have seen the whiterabbit do anything else but chase after it! And how can we who have onlyheard the commotion and smelled the scent not avoid the temptation ofgiving up the chase? Sincere and deep commitment to the commands of God, to the command to love - versus the eager desire to return the affection and the love that we haveexperienced from God - to God and to what God has made. There is a distinction here. But it is not one to become anxious aboutunless you are about to give up chasing the rabbit. When Jesus speaks to the scribe and affirms his wisdom and his insight,when Jesus tells him that he is very near to the kingdom of God,he is talking to all of us who strive to follow in the way of God,to all who seek to walk by God's light and to do good rather than evil. He is telling us such folk draw close to the kingdom of God even when theydo not use the name that we here in this church use - even when they do notname the name of Jesus - and even when they do not understand the fullnessof God's mercy for them in Jesus. But how much better to have seen the rabbit; how much better to allowGod's love for us in Christ to penetrate our hearts and to well up frominside us. I urge you today as you consider the greatest of all the commandments andas you think about the words of Jesus to the scribe "you are not far fromthe kingdom of God"; I urge you to not hear those commandments as if God's love for you depended on your fulfilling them but rather to hear what a wonderful place you have come to in your pursuit of righteousness and how much more wonderful it will be as your love grows ever more perfect through the Spirit that is alive in you. God loves you and God calls you to draw close to him so that you may knowthe fullness of his love. In the strength of that love - love as deeplyand as passionately and as truly as did Jesus. Blessed be God Day by Day, AMEN
The Gospel has a bit of the “question and answer” theme to it. The scribe is asking, not testing Jesus. The big question is present. The hidden question is about whether Jesus holds tightly to the Jewish tradition of Moses that there is but “one God”. This being said, Jesus outlines what’s expected now, considering that there is this One God.
After our listening to the string of requirements, about loving this One God with all ones mind, heart, soul, and strength, we are left to ponder. What does that mean to love God? If we could do this, then it would not appear to be as demanding as that of loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. Loving God, feeling love for God; it might be easier to fear God, that seems more natural. Fear is a good motivator and can keep us in line.
Loving our neighbor is easy when we like our neighbor or if by love we mean not hurting them or respecting boundaries. The people of Israel were given laws of great exactness and explicitness. There were rules for every occasion and one would know where she or he stood in relationship with the “terrible and One God”. Jesus seems to leave it to us to figure out who is the neighbor and how to love them. Jesus knows well that we too know well the invitations to love. The truth really is that we do know, but we do not like to think about it too much. We will never know exactly how we are doing and perhaps this is the important invitation to faith. Loving God is not having emotional or bodily reactions. Loving the One God is allowing that God to love this one person, who I am and receiving both me and God’s love as one act.
Just an observation with which I leave off. It seems that those who receive themselves gratefully, as loved of God and loved by others, are more free to love others as they love themselves. They do not seem to want to argue about just exactly what does “neighbor” mean, or “all”, or “mind”, “soul”, “strength”, and “heart”. They seem to receive their being loved easily and to share that easily with “those others”, the “neighbor”. The challenge of this Gospel story and the entire life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is whether we can let go of our “big questions” and get on with living the Eucharist. Now go wash your hands.
“Lord, you will show me the path of life and fill me with joy in your presence.” Ps.16, 11
Psychiatrists testify that one reason we find it difficult to love others is that we do not love our own selves. So, how can I love the person next to me if I do not appreciate myself? This theory may explain why violence, sexism and racism are so endemic in our culture. In the 20th century, there were more than 165 wars - almost two wars for each year; 160 million were killed. We must learn to be our own best fan. More importantly perhaps, if we work with young people, we must teach them to feel happy with themselves.If we are successful, the next generation of adults willbe able to live out their lives in a more peaceable kingdomthan we. They will be able to see the wisdom of the cry thatteaches, "Don't be Christian. Be Christ." Or, as Leo Tolstoy put it, "Each one of us should be a Christ in miniature." Jesus will indeed be very pleased if that should occur in our own case.


We are all made in God's image and likeness. We are called to reverence the Lord in the many ways in which He is present in his world. When we love other people, we are loving people who themselves are unique reflections of the presence of God. We cannot love God and hate others. Sometimes people say that they pray hard, they come to Church often, but they don't feel they are making any progress in their spiritual life. Perhaps, when we feel this way we need to ask ourselves if we are at peace with other people. We may not like someone, but if we are full of hatred for someone, we are destroying the love of God within us.


To Love GodMake no mistake: God wants all our love. God commands us to love him with our whole personality, all of our soul, heart, mind, and strength. That's both very easy and very difficult. Imagine dropping a pebble into water. A circle of water goes out from the center, getting bigger and bigger but also weaker and weaker as the circle of water goes farther.The small circle at the center, call that our soul. At the core of our being, it's very easy for the soul to love God. Because we are made in the image of God. God the Holy Spirit dwells within our souls. The breath of life breathed into us by God himself. With all our soul we naturally and totally love God.As the ripple of water moves out, imagine our heart. It starts getting a little harder totally to love God. Because in our heart our selfishness starts to assert itself. Two forces come into conflict. From the center, God ripples out from our soul only to meet the wind of self, beating against the breath of God. God-centeredness against self-centeredness. Love for God not so certain.Next, the ripple reaches to our mind and strength. Farther from the center, farther from the soul, to love God with all our mind and strength gets harder and harder. We have to make the effort. Turning the mind to God means turning it away from worldly enticements. We have to decide where to put our energy, for God or to follow our selfish desires. In these outer ripples, the whisper of God gets weaker and weaker. Serving self more attractive. We ask ourselves: Should I go to church on Sunday morning, or to little league soccer? Will I watch the thriller, or do I keep my appointed hour for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament? We know the choices, we know how we most often decide. God commands we love God with our whole being. Our soul naturally turns to God, the conflicted heart can go either way. How we use our energy, our strength, what we occupy our mind with, that tells whether we love God with our whole being.Stumbling BlocksThen, Jesus commands us, "love your neighbor as you love yourselves." And, we run into stumbling blocks. Not so easy this second of the two great commandments.First, some of us don't even like ourselves. How are we to love somebody else? If we despise ourselves, how can we love our neighbor? Happens when we have not been loved. Greg is an example. From as early as he can remember, his folks drilled into him he was not wanted. With low self-esteem, his poor grades reinforced his notion he was no good. Of course, his folks didn't help him with his homework, too much trouble. Never being loved himself, how could Greg love anyone? Before all else parents need to love their children, let them know they are precious in our eyes.An even sadder tale, the abused. Joyce was abused as a young girl by her father. Locked in a closet for weeks at a time, allowed out only to be the play thing of her father, she quickly learned to fear other people. To this day, years later, Joyce's eyes question everyone she meets, asking: Are you going to hurt me? There's a real stumbling block. The abused know: watch out, other people hurt you.Take another stumbling block, the self-centered egotist. So filled with self-love they have no room to love anyone. Jeff told the truth when he said he and his wife had this in common, they were both crazy in love with him. The selfish life demands and consumes, sucks the life out of those around with a childish obsession with his or her own wants. To the self-centered egotist the command to love your neighbor makes no sense.Let's mention one more stumbling block: our me-centered culture. Everything judged by whether it's fun for me. And, the ready guideline, "If it doesn't hurt anyone, why can't I do what I want?" Easy to jettison friends, even family when we don't need them, or when they want us to go out of our way. All me- first, no thought about loving neighbor.Real stumbling blocks to the commandment to "love your neighbor as you love yourselves." Some people with such low self-esteem they do not love themselves, let alone anyone else; others who are such egotist or so preoccupied with looking out for themselves there's no room to love anyone else. And, the abused, too frightened to love.To Love NeighborLuckily, most of us have none of these stumbling blocks. Loved by our parents, now surrounded by friends and a loving family, for us, it's natural to love our neighbor. Loving neighbor flows from our nature. Like the ring of water going out from the dropped pebble, ripples of love go out to embrace our family and friends. We cannot image not loving them. To give and receive love from these, our closest neighbors. Like Jesus, with a special place in his heart for his mother Mary and his foster father Joseph, we give special love to our family. Like Marge, when her son was in jail. Jailed because he broke in and trashed his school, a mother's love never stopped. He expected his mother to visit him. Her thoughts as she entered the jail: my son is in trouble, he needs my love. Family and friends, mirroring God's love with each other.Ripples of love reach out to strangers. We see this love when tragedy strikes. A hurricane, a flood, a neighbor's house burns to the ground. Whatever the tragedy, our first gut reaction is to help, to show our love for neighbor. Help the neighbor cover with plastic his roof blown off by high winds. In the flood waters, the rescue team risks their own lives to pull the woman stranded in a tree, rushing waters making any approach hazardous. Why? Because these are folks like me, made in God's image. Love at the center of our being ripples out.Based in our love of God, ripples of love cannot exclude anyone, not even those we do not like. When Jesus commanded us to love our neighbor, he ruled out no one. But, neither did Jesus say we had to like everyone. Brad, a fellow priest, has been a pain ever since I've known him. But, I love him as a brother in Christ. While still in seminary, Brad was my greatest critic. I'd pray for Brad, that God bless him and his ministry. As the years rolled by I saw Brad reach people I found hard to deal with. Indeed, Brad is a good priest. Still not a person I'd choose to have a meal with, I do love Brad as my neighbor. Why? Again, because the center of our being is God, and God is love. Starting from love, we never dwell on what we find irritating.It's our nature to love our neighbor. Love ripples out from our center, like circles ripple out when a pebble is dropped in water. Family, certainly we love them; friends, of course; victims of tragedy, oh, yes, we want to help, we'll even risk our safety to help. Those we don't like: hard to like, easy to love. Because we are made in God's image, our nature is to love, to love everyone. Ripples of love cannot be stopped, never confined.ConclusionWhat does love of God have to do with love of neighbor? What does the practice of loving one's neighbor do for loving God? Fact is, these two loves interact. Wholehearted love of God finds its fullest expression in love of neighbor. When we practice love of neighbor, our love of God becomes deeper, more intense. To love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves, by our nature that's what we do.

posted by Mike Young @ 6:17 AM