Gospel MT 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him,
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
Reflection:
Neither the Pharisees or the Sadducees actually “got it.”
One sect didn’t believe in resurrection after death, and the other sect thought being close to God was all about obeying man-made rules right down to the tithing of the mint in their garden.
A Pharisee, who was considered a scholar of the law, asked Jesus, “Which commandment of the law is the greatest?”
Our Lord answered him with the simplest of truths: it is all about love. If I truly love God and others then I will automatically be obeying the remainder of the commandments.
For, if I truly love someone, I will not lie, steal, dishonor or hurt them in any way, whether it is God or another human being.
When I sin, I commit an act of selfishness, i.e., doing what I want when I want regardless of whether it hurts God or another person.
Jesus came to reveal the truth about God’s love. And to assure us that the truth will set us free.
The truth is that loving God and others is not burdensome; loving unselfishly sets us free from sin and selfishness.
But God knows that as humans, our nature is not perfect. We are subject to temptation, and we succumb to selfish behavior.
So, Our Father sent Jesus to assure us of his love and forgiveness.
The Pharisees and Sadducees had it figured all wrong. They were trying to earn God’s love by strict obedience to the rules. That’s an impossible task because only God is perfect.
Like a loving parent, God looks for us to love Him and others, and do our best; his love and mercy will make up for our failings.
“Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness.” Billy Graham