Reflection

In today’s gospel reading, one scribe comes to Jesus and asks, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus responds with two commands in Hebrew Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, “Love your God and love your neighbour.” And I wonder why Jesus answers with two commandments rather than only one. How should we understand the relationship of the two commands? 

It is clear that these two commandments are intertwined and inseparable, holding greater significance than all the others. One of these commandments cannot exist without the other – they are like a needle and thread, always in harmony with one another.

Let us reflect on the first commandment: How should we love God, and how can we fulfil this? Jesus says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” This command calls us to wholehearted commitment, engaging our entire being – heart, soul, mind, and strength – in loving God. Such love includes praise, thanksgiving, study, obedience, and faithfulness. 

But this leads to a deeper question: why should we love God with our whole being? As humans, we often take God for granted. Yet, when we pause and marvel at the profound gift of God’s love – the love of our creator and the giver of all we are and have – a spiritual awakening rooted in gratitude begins. This awakening transforms our relationship with God from obligation to genuine devotion, opening our hearts to a life shaped by love.

We love God because God is our creator. We love God because God is our sustainer. God is the source of all that we are and have. We love God because loving God gives our lives greater purpose. It orients us toward values such as compassion, mercy, justice, and humility, shaping who we are and how we live. We love God because God first loved us. God’s love comes before ours, making our love for God a response to the relationship that God initiated – first through the covenant with Israel and later through the incarnation of Christ. 

When we recognize that God loves us freely and for no reason, we may begin to feel a desire to love God in the same way without expecting or wanting anything in return. This is the beginning of the desire to pray and worship simply because God is God. It is a longing and a willingness, the start of our faith journey.

But loving God cannot be fully attained without loving one’s neighbour. The second commandment explains how the first command can be lived out. In ancient Israel, love and compassion extended to the widow, orphan, foreigner, poor, or slave. Likewise, the gospel calls us to love for migrants, the poor, the homeless, and victims of climate and economic injustice, disease, war, and violence. The scribe understands this love is greater than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices in the Temple. He hears Jesus say: “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” 

Neighbourly love differs from loving God; it demands action and fuels our passion for justice with commitment and zeal. This love is a verb rather than a noun – it is something we enact through our deeds. 

I have a story. Once, two men lived in the same neighbourhood. Both were farmers. They farmed together, split their work together, and harvested equally. One was single, and the other was married with a large family. One day, the single neighbour thought, “My friend has many mouths to feed; he needs more grain.” So, he secretly placed a sack of grain in his neighbour’s barn each night. Meanwhile, the married neighbour thought, “My friend has no one to support him in old age; he needs more grain.” He also secretly left grain in his neighbour’s barn each night. One night, they met halfway, each carrying a sack. Realizing each other’s kindness, they embraced each other with joy. 

Love is a verb rather than a noun; it is something we enact through our actions. These two neighbours didn’t love each other only in their thoughts or imagination – they lived out their love through their deeds. As the story illustrates, loving our neighbour pleases God, who is the very embodiment of love. God teaches us unselfish, unconditional love, and it is God’s love that helps us love ourselves and connects us to our neighbours in love.

Jesus is the ultimate model for these two greatest commandments. He demonstrates his earnest love for God and people- his own and those beyond his community. As followers of Jesus, we are called to imitate him, learning from what he said and did so that we, too, may resemble him. 

Today is All Saints Sunday, a special time to honour and give thanks to those who came before us and shaped our faith. We will light candles for the saints who have passed; we remember their faithful love to God and their neighbours – commands they followed with dedication and obedience. Today, we come together in spirit with them, experiencing the communion of saints, where the past, present, and future are connected. We are not alone; we share a loving bond with those who have gone before us and with those who will come after us. Thanks be to God for the gift of faith and the loving community we share with all the saints, both past and present.