17th Sunday after Pentecost 20.9.15 Loving God
The need for religion is often disputed along the lines that a non-religious person can be just as good, or just as useful, as a religious person.
One often hears a statement something like this: I have one neighbour who is kind and good but does not go to Mass; and the other neighbour goes to Mass but he is a drunkard and dishonest etc. The inference is that religious observance is essentially a waste of time. Just be good and that is all you need.
And beliefs do not matter either, under this approach. Whatever you believe makes no difference as long as you treat other people well.
But it does matter what we believe, and religious observance is important and necessary.
We have to worship the right God. To say that it does not matter which God we believe in would be like saying it does not matter which woman is your wife! Identity does matter.
For the two ‘neighbours’ we can say that the one who goes to Mass should let himself be changed by the grace of God and so live a better life. The one who does not believe or does not practise his religion – if he is as good as claimed - he will be better still if he learns to pray and give due honour to God.
The first command is to love God. We do not satisfy the first command by keeping the second. The first command has its own obligations.
To love God with one’s whole heart, soul and mind means a lot more than lending your lawn mower, and bringing in someone else’s bin.
It requires each of us to give God our whole allegiance; to seek Him out; to express trust in Him at all times; to pray to Him; to give Him praise and thanks; to express sorrow for offending Him; to take part in the Mass; to submit every thought and desire to His will.
God does not need our love but we need to give it.
This is the stage that is often missed as we leap instead into action, often misdirected, motivated by self rather than by God.
Unless we are seeking to do His will perfectly we cannot claim to love Him according to the first and greatest commandment.
We find Him in our neighbour but we must also find Him in Himself.
All this takes nothing away from love of others but should add to it.
If we give due honour to God we have much more chance of achieving real love of neighbour, which includes: forgiving those who offend us, praying for those who persecute us, seeking to bring others to faith… being willing to sacrifice any of our own preferences for the greater good.
Our love must be practical (Jm 2,16). We cannot just wish our brother well; we must actually help him, if we can. On the other hand if we are thinking only at the level of physical or material need we can overlook the deeper meaning of our actions.
Neither command is as easy as it sounds, but keeping either one will help us to keep the other.
We must be assured that to spend time in prayer to God; studying His ways; revising our behaviour in the light of His will – all these things are not a waste of time. They are in fact essential.
If we are not in union with the One from whom all else comes how can we expect to get other things right?
Yet so many are running about ignoring God because they have no time for Him. They race about so busily, even on Sundays.
Only with God’s help can we love Him in the way that He desires. May He give us that help.
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