Thursday of 9th Week in Ordinary Time, Yr. II: reflection
Theme: You can’t genuinely love God without loving your neighbour
Reading: Mk 12:28b-34
There are churches on every corner of the streets in our countries, with a large number of people going in and out of these churches for prayers and other religious purposes. At every prayer session or other activity in these churches, members raise their voices to declare or whisper quietly in their hearts about how much they love God, and also promise to love Him with every breath in them.
It is reasonable to assume that as the number of people expressing their love for God on a daily basis rises and as the number of places where this love is occasionally declared rises as well, the number of crimes against human beings in society will inevitably decline. But it seems that the opposite appears to be the case: despite the rise in the number of people who raise their hands and voices in churches to declare their love for God, crimes against humanity seem to be on the rise. This raises doubts about the genuineness of the love we profess for God or, more accurately, whether we truly understand what loving God entails.
In today’s gospel reading, while responding to the question about the greatest of commandments, Jesus hints on what anyone who truly loves God should do. He said the two greatest of all commandments are to love of God with everything in us and to love of neighbor as ourselves. None of these two can exist without the other.
Therefore, whoever professes love for God must consequently extend a hand of love to the people around him or her, these include the people near and far: husband, wife, children, brother, sister, relatives, friends, colleagues, fellow citizens and all human beings, whether they are lovable or not.
Indeed, the genuineness of our love for God will be tested by the way we treat our fellow human beings, and not by how loud we proclaim it in the Church and/or street corners.
May your honest efforts this Thursday bear good fruits. Amen
Fr Isaac Chima