Eph. 4:1-6; Mt. 22:35-46
It
was not unusual in our Lord’s day to ask a holy man which of the commandments
is the greatest, and it was not even unusual for a holy man to respond with the
command to love the Lord our God will all our heart, soul, and mind. But it was unique for our Lord to add the
second command, to love our neighbor as ourselves. We can almost see the doctor of the law begin
to walk away, before our Lord adds the second command.
The love of God comes first. He is the Supreme Good and our final end. The love of neighbor comes second. We love him because he is righteous or so that he will become righteous. He, after all, needs to find his way to heaven, too. As St. Paul says, we are one in this common endeavor, supporting one another in charity, careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. And yet they are one command. We love God for Himself, and our neighbor for God’s sake. We love God, and those who are made in the image of God.
Last Sunday, the Lord gave us a lesson, which St. Bernard of Clairvaux put simply, that humility makes us look to what is above, to God, the source of all we have. It helps us to know that St. Bernard goes on to say that since we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, that we look upon him as our equal. We do not compare, because we will always find those who we believe are better off than ourselves and we will become crestfallen, or we will find those we believe are worse off than ourselves and we will become proud. We do not know what crosses our neighbor bears, or what consolations he has received from God. In humility, we love our neighbor as ourselves.
The slave does not love God, and the mercenary loves something more than God. God does not want to be served in that way, but to be loved as a Father, for which He has made us His sons and daughters by adoption in Christ.
The love of God comes first. He is the Supreme Good and our final end. The love of neighbor comes second. We love him because he is righteous or so that he will become righteous. He, after all, needs to find his way to heaven, too. As St. Paul says, we are one in this common endeavor, supporting one another in charity, careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. And yet they are one command. We love God for Himself, and our neighbor for God’s sake. We love God, and those who are made in the image of God.
Last Sunday, the Lord gave us a lesson, which St. Bernard of Clairvaux put simply, that humility makes us look to what is above, to God, the source of all we have. It helps us to know that St. Bernard goes on to say that since we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, that we look upon him as our equal. We do not compare, because we will always find those who we believe are better off than ourselves and we will become crestfallen, or we will find those we believe are worse off than ourselves and we will become proud. We do not know what crosses our neighbor bears, or what consolations he has received from God. In humility, we love our neighbor as ourselves.
The slave does not love God, and the mercenary loves something more than God. God does not want to be served in that way, but to be loved as a Father, for which He has made us His sons and daughters by adoption in Christ.
