Gospel Reading for the Day
From the holy Gospel according to
The scribe said to him,
"Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him,
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him,
"You are not far from the Kingdom of God."
And no one dared to ask him any more questions. [32 - 34]
And no one dared to ask him any more questions. [32 - 34]
The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
Personal reflection on the reading
Sharing for the Day
According to the Lord, there are really only two [2] Commandments: the one about God and then that which is about our neighbor. The one relating to God, the First Greatest Commandment, is embodied in the Jewish prayer Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil [Hear O Israel] which can be found written in Deuteronomy 6: 4-9:
| Sh'ma Yis'ra'eil Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad. Hear, Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. |
| V'ahav'ta eit Adonai Elohekha b'khol l'vav'kha uv'khol naf'sh'kha uv'khol m'odekha. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. |
The second greatest commandment which is in Leviticus 19:18:
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
In the Matthean version, Chapter 22: 36-40, the Lord adds:
"All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." [40]
If we will look at these two commandments we shall see the point of the Lord. These two encompass everything that we ought to know and do. God, first of all, being our Creator, surely deserves to be loved by us with all our heart, soul and strength. Secondly, loving our neighbor is merely a manifestation of our love for God also since our neighbor, like us, has been made in the image and likeness of God.
If we love God with all our heart, soul and strength, there is no more room for sin. We will never look for any substitute to God in our lives anymore, will never use His name in vain, and will never forget to keep His day holy.
If we love our neighbor as ourselves, we shall honor our parents, shall not harm anyone, shall be chaste, shall be respectful of other's things, shall respect other people's names, dignity and honor, shall not covet what is not ours.
Most of all, we shall never think of how we shall be able to avoid fulfilling these laws through technicalities. Rather, we shall do everything in order to do more than what the letter of the commandments require and delve deeper into what the spirit of the commandments demand. Merely following the letter of the law may make us good but it is not enough - for we are called to be perfect, holy, righteous. We must look into the spirit of the commandments and then we shall be able to achieve the important goal of our lives: holiness. Holy people only desire to please God and serve others. If only half of all Christians will fulfill these two greatest commandments, the world will surely be a different place!
Application of the Message
[1] Prayer
Pray for the grace to understand, obey and fulfill the greatest commandments.
[2] Abstinence
Abstain from something that distracts you from fulfilling the command to love God with all your heart, soul and strength.
[3] Almsgiving
What can you share today which will manifest your love for neighbor?
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