Gospel: Mt 22:34-40
WHEN the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law, tested him by asking, “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall 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 is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
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The whole of God’s revelation in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) that also expresses the divine will is often referred to as “the Law and the Prophets.” Actually, Scriptures also include the third body of inspired books: the “Writings” (or “the Psalms”).
Asked about the greatest commandment, Jesus cites two upon which the whole Law and the Prophets depend: love of God and love of neighbor. The whole will of God in Scriptures is derived from, and summed up in, this double commandment. All individual commands and obligations must be measured against and judged by this canon.
There are many ways of relating to God and to others, but the Gospel says that if that relationship is not steeped in selfless love, it is not the right kind. Can you say you love God and those whom God gives you to be your neighbors?
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
