Love God in deeds among people

 

Welcome to my blog. Peace be with you.

Today Jesus tells us that if we love God, then we will love everyone we meet.

Our love for others is the touchstone of our love for God.

Sunday 25 October 2020

Love God in deeds

 

Gospel

Matthew 22:34-40

The commandments of love

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, ‘Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?’ Jesus said, ‘You must 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 resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.’

 

Prayerful reflection

Of all the 613 commandments contained in the Old Testament which is the greatest? The Pharisee thought that Jesu would fumble, but he does not. He goes to the heart of the matter. It is to love God with everything we have.

We need to remember just what we are. Most of the time, we forget and live in a world of illusion. The illusion is that we are something. The reality is that we are nothing. God in his love created me from nothing. He has not only created me but given me everything I am and have. I have earned nothing and so cannot boast. It follows then, that since God out of love has given me everything, including my very existence, I should turn to him in gratitude. He loves me with infinite love. That means he desires my happiness with a desire that knows no bounds. For my happiness, he is happy to leave all his divine prerogatives and be born and live as a slave and die on a cross. If I realise this, then I will love him with everything I am and have.

Of course, I can show my love by praying to God and so I should. But how can I show my love in my daily life as I go about my daily chores? God is not visible and so I cannot give him anything, nor can I show my love directly. However as God loves me, so he loves each person. By loving those whom he loves with infinite love, then I can show my love. So, in the first reading, we are instructed on how to love. We are to care for all those who are in some way deprived. We are to be the living image of God, making him visible to others, especially those who suffer.  This is to love God by loving his children

 

Saturday 24 October 2020

 

Gospel

Luke 13:1-9

'Leave the fig tree one more year'

Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this, he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’

He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig around it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’

 

Prayerful Reflection

Obviously, the ones who came to Jesus thought that the people they mentioned were sinners and so were punished. Jesus does not deny that they were sinners but declares that they also are equally sinners. They need to repent while there is still time.

The parable of Jesus stresses that we must show fruit in our life. It is the fruit of obedience to God’s will. We know when we are not obedient, when we sin. God has given us our conscience. We are to listen and with the grace of God repent. God is merciful. But there will come the day of judgement one day. We do not know when that will come. It may come suddenly as with the people Jesus mentions. We may be given more time, but one day it will surely come. Are you ready? Loving obedience has its consequences, eternal life. Sin too has its consequences, eternal death. The choice is ours now.