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Friends,
our Gospel today features what the ancient Israelites referred to as
the Shema: "Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is Lord Alone." Could I
invite you to make an examination of conscience on the basis of the
Shema? Is God the one Lord of your life? Who or what are his rivals for
your attention, for your ultimate concern? Or turn the question around:
does absolutely everything in your life belong to God?
You
might ask, how do I give myself to a reality that I cannot see? This is
where the second command of Jesus comes into play. When asked which is
the first of all commandments, Jesus responded with the Shema, but then
he added something to the tradition, a second command, namely, "You
shall love your neighbor as yourself."
There
is strict logic at work here. When you really love someone, you tend to
love, as well, what they love. Well, what does God love? He loves
everything and everyone that he has made. So, if you want to love God,
and you find this move difficult because God seems so distant, love
anyone you come across for the sake of God.
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