31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
The question posed in today’s gospel by “one of the scribes” concerning which is the first or greatest commandment appears in all three synoptic gospels. However, from a different context in Luke, a lawyer asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer is the same in each case: “You shall love the Lord your God… and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Few texts in the scriptures get the exposure in the Liturgical Year that these words of Jesus have been given.
Clearly, the Church treasures these words, recognizing that they connect us to the spirituality of our ancestors in the faith and the tradition in which they were grounded. The context in which the commands are given is the hallmark proclamation of the Jewish faith, the ‘Shema Yisrael,’ “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone.” The ‘Shema’ (Hear) began all prayers recited by Israelites in times past and is still so today.
How appropriate that the word prefaces the announcement of the greatest commandment ‘listen.’ Jesus often said, ‘Listen those who have ears to hear’! We cannot hear or remember unless we listen.
We are called to be lovers, lovers of God, and our neighbor. This is only possible because God has loved us first. “I have loved you, with an everlasting love, I have called you and you are mine” (Jeremiah 31:3)
Since the commands to love God and our neighbor are at the core of our gospel living, we must hear this message frequently, especially in the context of the Eucharist, where we are formed and shaped in the ‘school of love’ (Pope Saint John Paul II).
Let Us Pray:
Lord, pour out your love upon us so that we may be bearers of your love to others.
