31st Sunday in Ordinary Time – All about Love

“One 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” (Mark 12:28b-34).

There are 613 commandments in the Torah, so it’s understandable that there would be a discussion about which of them is the “greatest.” In trying to clarify their own faith, Jews of Jesus’ time would pose this question to the respected teachers of the day.

Jesus’ response of loving God with all of your heart and soul and also loving your neighbor as yourself challenged the listeners to view the law through the lens of love. Jesus wanted them to see that the Torah and the Gospel were both founded upon the law of love.

Jesus invites us to live in such a way that our guiding force is love of God and one another. To love with all we have is to root our lives in this love—in God, who is love. When we root ourselves in God’s love, it frees us to be our best selves and encourages us to move toward even greater love and generosity to all we meet.

Such love is not easy. It takes truly opening ourselves to God and to others, doing what is both right and in the best interest of others, and doing everything within our power to uphold the dignity of all.
What are the challenges you face in rooting yourself in God? In loving your neighbors, your community, and those around the world?

Adapted from Word on the Go, a downloadable resource from RENEW International