SACRIFICIAL LOVE
Ruth 1:1, 3-6, 14-16, 22; Psalm 146; Matthew 22:34-40
In the Gospel, in response to the Pharisees, Christ says love is the greatest commandment. We must love God above all things and our neighbor as ourselves. Loving God above all things entails sacrificial or genuine love.
In the first reading, Ruth demonstrated sacrificial love. She said to Naomi, “Entreat me not to leave you or to return from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Ruth did not neglect her mother-in-law after the death of her husband. She loved sacrificially.
The vow “for better for worse” is an expression of sacrificial love. “For better for best”, as we see today in most churches, simply expresses artificial love. True love is sacrificial not artificial. Beyond making positive confessions, Christians must not be duped into illusions.
We must be ready to love beyond moods, pleasures, and situations. When Jesus fed the multitudes, he had many lovers, but on the cross, when things became worse, only a few individuals loved him sacrificially.
LET US PRAY
Lord God, bestow a full measure of your grace on us. As you work within us to keep us in the path of your commandments, may we receive consolation in this present life and eternal joys in the next. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Fr. Daniel Evbotokhai
