The Greatest Commandments<\/p>\n
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30th<\/sup>\u00a0Sunday in Ordinary Time<\/p>\n October 29, 2017<\/p>\n Matthew 22:34-40<\/p>\n \n \u201cYou shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.\u00a0 (Mat\u00a022:34)\u201d<\/p>\n \n What is love? If we ask young couple who are in love, love means more time together and be connected online even up to late hours of the night. For young priests, love may mean patiently listening to confessions for hours, and attending to sick calls. For a couple who have their newly-born baby, love is changing the baby\u2019s diapers even at middle of the night. Love is passion, dedication and sacrifice.<\/p>\n However, love is also one of the most abused and misused words in human history. In the name of love, a young man lures his girlfriend into premarital sex.\u00a0 For the love of their country and race, some men persecute another ethic group and burn their villages. For the love of God and religion, some men blow themselves up and kill the innocent people, including children whom they consider the enemies of their God.<\/p>\n Surprisingly, the situation is not much different from the time of Jesus. For the love of the Law, the Pharisees keep and observe the Law even to its meticulous details in their daily lives. For the love of God and their country, the Zealots fight and kill the Romans and those who work for them. For the love of God, the Essenes separate themselves from the rest of the corrupted world and build their own exclusive communities. For the love of the Temple, the priestly clan work hard to offer sacrifices daily and is ready to die for the Temple.<\/p>\n When the Pharisees ask Jesus what is the greatest law, the law of laws, it is not simply about theological exercise, but it is to reveal Jesus\u2019 fundamental attitude towards God and the Jewish Law.\u00a0Is He a Pharisee who loves the Law more than anything else, a Zealot who loves the country zealously, or something else?<\/span>\u00a0Jesus answers, \u201cYou shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.\u201d Jesus quotes part of the Shema or the basic Jewish Creed that every devout Jews would recite every day (see Deu 6:4-5). Yet, Jesus does not stop there. He completes the first and the greatest law with another one, \u201cYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u201d It also comes from the Old Testament (see Lev 19:18). To the delight of the Jews, Jesus\u2019 answer is basically an orthodox one, but there is something novel as well.<\/p>\n The connection between first and second turns to be a watershed. For Jesus, true love for God has to be manifested in the love for others, and genuine love for others has to be oriented toward God. Thus, it is unthinkable for Jesus to order His disciples to kill for the love of God. Or, Jesus will not be pleased if His followers are busy with performing rituals, but blind to the injustices that plague their communities.<\/p>\n Once I asked my brother who is studying Canon or Church Law, what is the highest law in the Canon Law?<\/span>\u00a0He immediately answered, the suprema lex, all laws are governed and ordained for the salvation of souls. The Code of Canon Law contains more than 2 thousand provisions governing various aspects of Church\u2019s life, and all these will be absurd if not for the love of God and neighbors. In the same manner, do our love for God, our prayers and celebration of sacraments bring us closer to our neighbors, to be more committed in doing justice, to be dedicated in our responsibilities as members of a family and a society?\u00a0Does our love for others, our affection for our children and friends, our passion for ministry bring them closer to God?<\/span><\/p>\n \n Br. Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Greatest Commandments 30th\u00a0Sunday in Ordinary Time October 29, 2017 Matthew 22:34-40 \u201cYou shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.\u00a0 (Mat\u00a022:34)\u201d What is love? If we ask young couple who are in love, love means more time together and be connected online even up to late hours of the night. For young priests, love may mean patiently listening to confessions for hours, and attending to sick calls. For…<\/p>\n