Loving God first. Then loving our neighbor as we do ourselves. Those are the two greatest commandments, and they are really the bane of our existence. They are really why we are here on this earth, and they are our purpose while on this planet – to love God and to love others.
To love.
It’s to love God like a child does a parent, so that when we sin, when we offend Him, we’re not guilt ridden or fearful, but rather truly disappointment and sorrowful that we offended Him, that we hurt Him, because we love Him.
And it’s about loving other people as we do our self. In those times when we are in danger, or we encounter a certain situation, or when we wish to take care of our bodies through healthy eating and exercise – we strive to protect ourselves, to take care of ourselves. It’s a natural instinct to care for and protect our bodies and yes, our souls. And we often will go to the ends of the earth to do this.
And so in loving others, the rule is simple – love others as we do ourselves. We’ve got to be willing to go above and beyond and love others in whatever situation we find ourselves in. That’s what all these readings today boil down to and culminating in Jesus’ explicit words in the Gospel. You can’t say it any clearer than that. It’s simple.
Except it’s not.
It shouldn’t be difficult, but it is. There is a lot of love in this world, and I am continuously amazed by the love and courage and compassion that comes out of people to help their neighbor during a disaster or tragedy. It is truly beautiful to see, and it always gives me hope.
But why does it take a hurricane or a terrorist attack to bring out the love in people for their neighbor, for others? Where is the love for God? Why does it often take imminent danger, or a tragedy in our lives, for people to finally seek God? Where is the love for Him and one another in the everyday life, in the little moments in-between?
When life gets busy, when you’re living those in-between moments – where is your love for God? Where is your love for those around you – your family, your physical neighbors where you live, your co-workers, your fellow parishioners, the person you pass on the street, the drivers around you on the freeway?
How do you love these people every day?
What about online? Most of you are on social media, you read this website, you surely read other websites, blogs and news outlets – all where people provide their opinions and comments.
How are you loving people online? Because love isn’t just about who is in front of you – it’s about what’s in your heart. Social media and the internet expose this. Think about Facebook, or Twitter, or your neighborhood Nextdoor site, or websites like this.
How often do you see people make nasty comments? How often do you think people would speak like this to the person if they were looking them in the eye?
So often people get “brave” when they are behind a computer screen, and you can really see the character and love that is in their hearts, or lack thereof. This very thing that we all witness is perhaps one of the most astonishing things in the world today for me, how we often speak to one another when there is a screen between us.
The thing is, it is real people on the other side of the screen as well. People that are being hurt by these comments. We see this all the time online, and many people, teens especially, kill themselves over it. I am all for healthy debate and discussions online, as I am in person, but this cyber-bullying, which all of this falls into, has no place and it really shows the amount of anger and sadness and loneliness out there, all of which are voids that can be filled, permanently filled, by one thing – love.
Love is just not about what or who is in front of you – it is about what is in your heart and what you do, and how you speak when others are not around, or directly in front of you. The things you choose to view, and the things you choose to say, whether in person, or on a screen do have an impact. Even if they don’t directly hurt another person, they hurt your ability to love.
Imagine, just imagine if we all simply loved God, and each other as we do ourselves, you know, abide by that golden rule? But to do this, we must have that deep love for God in our hearts. We cannot love others that deeply without knowing and loving God first, and having a relationship with Him.
It all starts with seeking to love God, letting Him fill our hearts and letting Him love you. Truly let him love you, and build a relationship with Him, let Him flood your soul. Let Him enter your heart and tell Him, like St Paul yesterday, that yes God, I do the very things I hate, and I don’t do the things I want to do. But I love you, and I want to love others. Show me how.
And so this should be our prayer every day.
Jesus, please show me how to love. I don’t want my heart to be hardened by this world and by my sin anymore. I don’t want to continue to do the very things I hate to do, those very things I despise and that I know hurts you and others and myself. Show me how to love. Fill my heart with it, help me to seek the good, and look to love and do the right thing, the respectful and loving thing, in every situation I am in, and simply help me to live intensely in that present moment, especially in those times of conflict or when confronted by someone who is not showing love and respect.
Jesus, please show me how to love.
Amen
