The theme of the readings today centres on Love. The love of God and love of one’s neighbour cannot be separated. In the first reading, Moses reminds the Jews of the covenant with God, to fear God, to follow, and to observe the statutes and commandments. In return, there would be promised blessings for obedience to the law. What does it mean to “fear” the Lord? Are we following the commandments for fear that we would be punished for our sins? It is not a psychological fear that we are talking about that causes us to cower or be afraid. The Fear of the Lord is a profound gift of the Holy Spirit, this gift empowers a person with the love and reverence of God, leading to an avoidance of sin and anything that would take away or lead us away from God. This gift results in a profound respect for the majesty of God who is the supreme being. Here, a person realises the deep truth that he or she is but a created being and a creature made by God, whose life is completely dependent upon God. The person who has the gift of the Fear of the Lord is truly as the Beatitudes say, poor in spirit and would never want to be separated from God, who is love. This holy gift arouses in the soul a vibrant sense of adoration and reverence for God and a sense of horror and sorrow for sin.
Moses delivered the ten commandments to the Jews. The ten commandments can be categorised further into two parts. The first three commandments are about our first love – God loving us as his people, and the love we are called to have in return for God. The remaining seven commandments are about the second love in a man’s or woman’s life – our relationships with our family, friends, and those around us. Jesus’ answer to the scribe’s question – The first commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength. The second commandment being to love your neighbour as yourself, summarises exactly the most important essence and the key message of the ten commandments.
What does it mean to love God? To love God is to know Him. We must know Him so that we can better understand Him and commit ourselves more deeply to our Father who loves us. Love for God requires that we spend time getting to know Him. How much time do we spend with Him through reading the bible and through prayers? We need to read the bible and try to apply what we read. Loving God means keeping his commandments too. In John 15:10, Jesus says, “When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.”
In the second commandment, Jesus said we must love our neighbour as ourselves. Who is my neighbour? Love should not be reserved only for family members, our own community and those who share the same faith. In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus instructs us to be like the Samaritan, treating others regardless of race, religion, and other differences we may have. This is love for our neighbour.
Whilst we could all be familiar with the commandments Jesus taught us, let us reflect today about how we can take steps to actualise these commandments.
Written by
Coro di Velli Angeli
Bernadette Lee