|
“I love you.” In some ways it
is much easier to say than to show. Three simple words; one
declarative sentence. What does it mean? A parent might use these words
to express unconditional commitment to their offspring. A child could
mean, “I could not survive without you.” A teenager might be telling his
new girlfriend, “you are the first person I’ve dated who wanted to get
to know me.” Our culture often confuses love with a condition of
physical attraction, or fondness for another person. In today’s gospel
Jesus means something much more than simple emotions.
When asked what was the greatest commandment in the law Jesus quoted the
Shema (Hear!) prayer from Deuteronomy 6:4-9. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord
is our God, the Lord alone. Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your
God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your
strength.” Then he added the next greatest commandment taken from
Leviticus 19:18. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus was
not interested in an emotional experience of God, instead he called for
a total commitment of mind, body, and soul.
It is not that difficult to love God with just our head, or only with
our heart, or even our body for that matter. It is possible to say
prayers, have good feelings about God, even go to church on Saturday or
Sunday, and still fall way short of the challenge given by Jesus and the
Shema prayer. What is demanded there is a radical re-organizing of
our daily life. It means that we put God first in everything. I know
what you are thinking. “I have a life to live; I have responsibilities”.
This is absolutely true. And right in the midst of our responsibilities
is where we must center God in our lives.
In love we put the needs of the beloved before our own. We make time, to
communicate, to be around them, to do whatever little things we can to
demonstrate our love. These things are not burdens, they are joys. Quite
often familiarity breeds contempt and with time we take the beloved for
granted. They have been there so long, surely by now they know how much
we love them. Are the little things we do for them the result of our
love for them? Or is our love for them the result of those little things
we take such joy in doing?
Jesus challenged us to love God with everything that we have. That is
only right since everything we have comes from God, but how do we love
in that way? Every day we need to remind ourselves that our heart, soul,
mind, and body are just a few of God’s many gifts to us. We need
to develop an attitude of gratitude that Oprah talks about! Then, when
we have stirred up our gratitude, we can ask God to show us how to place
our many gifts at his divine service.
In the smallest of details we
can serve God. In the way we treat our family members, co-workers,
the people we encounter in the store or the parking lot. It is in the
details that we spend our lives for God. And why not? This is what we
were created for-- an all-day, every-day intimate relationship with the
Almighty.
Healthy people do not tire of taking care of themselves. We get up each
morning, bathe and clothe ourselves, we like to eat well, we find
people, work and things to amuse ourselves all day long. After all, we
are not bad people. We deserve some of the good things that life offers!
Jesus would agree and then he would urge us to love our neighbor in just
that way. How can we let them go without shelter, food, or any of the
good things that life offers. Jesus commanded that we love them as we
love ourselves. And after all if we love the Lord, our God, with
everything we have and are, then surely a great deal of that love will
pour over into the love and service of our neighbor.
|
