17th Sunday after Pentecost 27.9.09 Love of God and Neighbour
What does it mean to love God? The ultimate test of whether we love someone is deeds not words. It is no use writing love poetry if the practical details are not met -if one does not get out of bed to help, or be prepared to rearrange a schedule, or whatever is required.
However the words can be important as sources of inspiration or encouragement, but words by themselves can never be enough.
In relation to God the same principle applies. It is no use saying we love Him if we do not seek to obey Him or consider his will. It is still good to say it, however, because it helps us focus on Him and probably pleases Him. As with other things we say to God it may be more a case of telling ourselves than telling Him.
The deeds that God asks of us are many and varied. It can mean a million different things but it comes down to giving Him first place, never pushing Him to the side. Loving Him means doing whatever He asks from us. There will be different demands at different times.
One time we help an old lady across the street; another time we give money to the poor; another time a courteous reply to a stranger. The seven corporal works of mercy: To convert the sinner To instruct the ignorant To counsel the doubtful To comfort the sorrowful To bear wrongs patiently To forgive injuries To pray for the living and the dead
It can also be what we do not do: don’t eat all the food in the fridge if others might need it. Don’t play loud music after midnight.
God wants us to value the other person as important to Him. You are a child of God (or should be). Thus the epistle: give way to one another, build unity. We do not worry about titles of people or social ranking in this matter. The meanest tramp is important because a child of God.
We show our love of God by the way we treat our neighbour. We treat others as He would treat them; not relaxing His commands but guiding and encouraging others in keeping them. The Church often has to make herself unpopular in this process, but this is real love.
Some say that loving the neighbour only is necessary. God should be pleased with that, they say. The trouble is if we leave God out of the picture our love for Neighbour is going to be distorted. We need Him for moral reference, otherwise we will be condoning and abetting immoral behaviour, which is definitely not loving on our part.
We are wasting our time here (in church), some would say. We should be out mowing lawns, mending fences. Well we can do those things but we can be here as well. It is a matter of balance. We must not omit the ‘God’ part of the command.
From the proper of today’s Mass: God is ‘terrible’, in the old sense of the word, inspiring terror as we contemplate His ‘awful’ power. We need that dimension. Loving Him is having proper respect and a sense of our proper place. We can love Him directly through the liturgy and sacraments and in our private devotions. This is the ‘words’ part of expressing love; by doing this we are more likely to want to follow up the words with deeds.
Putting God at the centre of our lives means taking Him seriously in all His commands. We cannot trade off obligations. For example, if someone say: ‘If I help the poor it means it is OK if I live with a woman who is not my wife’ Any major disrespect to Him is enough to prove that I do not love Him; therefore I must set right whatever is wrong. It helps if I get other things right but I cannot claim to love God if I am deliberately violating some part of His commands.
It is an obligation to love God, but not an unpleasant one. It is, after all, our destiny and our greatest fulfilment.
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