THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT
2 Timothy 2:8–15; Psalm 24; Mark 12:28–34
Love is the greatest commandment and one of the conditions for salvation. On account of love, Jesus said to the scribes in today’s gospel, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
Any Christian who cannot love is far from the kingdom of God. ‘Love is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices’ (Mark 12:33). Our sacrifices, fasting, and prayers will be in vain if we do not love God and our neighbor.
Again, we must love God “with all our souls.” The soul is the seat of human desire. In Ps. 42:1, the bible says, “As the deer yearns for flowing streams, so my soul yearns for you, my God.” Therefore, to love God ‘with all our soul’ means we must have an active longing for Him, His works, nature, and kingdom.
We must love God “with all our minds.” The mind is the intellectual home of the human person. It is the faculty of consciousness and thought. So, we must love God even in the things we think about.
Another way to express this love is by loving our neighbors. Christ says, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If we don’t love our neighbors, then we cannot claim to love God. 1 John 4:20–21 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God’ but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” Therefore, genuine love begins with those we see. We cannot claim to love God and yet cheat, enslave, and oppress others.
In the first reading, St. Paul, a prisoner in Rome, exhorts and inspires St. Timothy by explaining Christ’s mysteries and redemption through his writings. Let’s inspire and encourage one another.
Let us pray
Pour your grace into our hearts. We pray, O Lord, that we may be constantly drawn away from unruly desires and obey by your own gift the heavenly teaching you give us. Amen.
Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai
