Jesus does something amazing: he brings two great commandments and
puts them all together, making them into “his” commandment. In doing so,
He started a great revolution, which is at
the heart of Christianity: it’s impossible to separate our love of God
and love of neighbor. Now we know that how God wants us to love Him: by
loving our neighbor.
The true measure of love is
love without measure. This is what is at the heart of the
Gospel. By placing the two commandments together Jesus has lifted us up
and now we are able to see God. Like a loving parent who lifts a child
up and talks to him face to face.
We love our
neighbor in the same way we love God: “with all our
hearts” - love is a response from the innermost center of our live.
“With all our minds” - sometimes our love requires some
creativity, some attentiveness, something that makes us go deeper and
farther. “With all our soul” - allowing the person who is next
to us to be considered as the only one in the world. God-in-the-neighbor
is the One we can encounter every day and in every moment.
Understanding this, we know that we can never be alone, we can never be
separate from Him.
We ought to strive to love God
with two loves (that are actually the same): for Him and for
Him-in-the-Other. These two loves are not exclusive but they both need
to be there if we want to grow in the image of the Son, if we want to do
His will.
How do we know if we are loving God with these two
loves? Jesus said that on these two commandments the whole Law and the
Prophets rest. For us, then, it means that we can check if we are making
progress by seeing how quickly, how well and how strongly we love
others. Should a situation rise and asks me to make a choice, I have to
ask myself first: which one will allow me to love my neighbor? then,
which is more “convenient” or suitable for me?
“In
Love, what counts is to love.” Then, let’s all say yes to
His will and focus on Love
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