Readings: Exodus 22:20-26; Psalm 18; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 2:34-40
Today is the last Sunday in the month of October. I would like to begin by reminding us of our Sunday reflections this month.
Today, the 5th Sunday in October, we shall be reflecting on what is titled “The Great Commandment.”
In today’s Gospel, we have the third question that the religious leaders of the Jews asked Jesus with the intention of trapping Him in what He would say.
The first question: The Herodians and Pharisees asked about paying taxes to Caesar.
The second question: The Sadducees asked about the resurrection.
Today, we have an account of a Pharisee representing his other colleagues, asking Jesus what the greatest Commandment is. This was a great debate at that time.
Let me contextualise this question. God gave the people of Israel Ten Commandments. Out of their zeal, they broke down these commandments and multiplied them into 613 precepts covering subjects like temple worship, ritual cleansing, offerings, Sabbath, marriage, labour, national loyalty, relationship with non-Jews, regulations on food, crimes and punishment, social justice etc.
So, imagine asking Jesus to choose one out of 613 precepts.
Jesus simply replied by giving us the Commandment that binds all of these together, the summary of all the laws- He says Love.
Love God with all your heart, soul and mind.
He goes ahead to give us the second greatest Commandment, which is to love our neighbour as ourselves.
Now, to do justice to this reflection, we need to break down this Commandment. For the sake of time I will just comment on this.
To Love God:
The Bible talks more about God’s love for us and less about our love for God. To love God as a sublime imperative was not new to the Jews. It was in fact what they called Shema, something they recited morning and evening. It is in Deuteronomy 6:4-5.
To love God with all our heart, soul and mind means to love God with everything we have.
To love God is to be willing to obey Him in everything, to desire to know Him more, to make Him more important than anything, including our life, to live for Him, to be willing to do ANYTHING for Him, to be extra careful to avoid anything that offends Him and to love all those He loves.
Dear friends, here is the question:
Do we love God with everything we are and have?
Do we love Him above everything? Can we do anything for Him who gave everything for us?
The reward of loving God above everything is spending eternity with God.
To Love our neighbour:
In the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus teaches us that our neighbours are not just those who love us or are the same as us. We must love most especially;
- Those who do not love us. This is one of the aspects where Christianity differs from other religions of the world. We must love even our enemies, those who hurt us, those who hate and despise us. God’s grace is available for us to do this through the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Those who are weak, vulnerable, poor, those who cannot pay us back for our kindness and cannot defend themselves.
- Those who are different to us in ideology, orientation, race, colour, language, creed, religion, political persuasion.
Jesus says it by this (love) that people will know that we are His disciples (John 13:35).
On Loving Ourselves:
Jesus asked us to love others as we love ourselves, which means we must also learn to love, forgive and appreciate ourselves. We must not be too hard on ourselves or despise who we are because of our past, mistakes, looks, weakness, what someone has done to us, our financial status, or people’s judgement or rejection of us. God loves and accepts us as we are (Amen) and we must love ourselves too. God wants us to accept His love, be open to be loved by others and to love ourselves.
Finally, St. Paul praised the Church in Thessalonika for their acceptance of the Gospel, their passion for spreading the Good News, their love for one another and for the ministers of God amongst them.
Dear friends, this is what makes a Church beautiful in the sight of God. It is not the interior or the exterior designs. What “wows” us may not “wow” God. The beauty of a Church is in the measure of love therein, the love of God in the hearts of people, their love for their ministers and their love for one another. Love is the true beauty of a Church.
It is also through the power of love that our world can be healed of the evil of wars, hatred, violence, revenge, injustice and crass inhumanity.
Let us pray today, that God’s love may be poured into our hearts, that we may become one with God who is love and that love may heal our world.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on October 29, 2023 .