20th Week in Ordinary Time (B) : Friday 23rd August 2024

We find Jesus reiterating the Shema by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 “ You shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”  Then He connects it to Leviticus 19:18 “You shall not seek vengeance nor bear a grudge against the children of your people. You shall love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.” He highlights the essence of our relationship with God, the Creator which ought to be love in its totality, that governs our whole-being. This love of neighbour ought to be as natural as loving for ourselves in the Lord.

The fact that God has placed us in the midst of diverse people is intended for us to relate to them with love. Christianity can only be real for all, if we who believe in a loving God, see that the symbiotic flow of God’s love excludes no one. Hence, difficult as it may be, we have to adopt Jesus’ non-judgmental attitude towards others.

Ezekiel is to love the House of Israel as God enfleshed dry bones and breathed new life into them. It refreshes once more God as Creator of man and woman (Gen 2:7) – God breathes into them that they have life! All this attests that our acts of love be oriented to God that benefits all.

Lord, grant us the grace to love beyond ourselves and to bring messages of Hope, Peace and Love especially to those in the margins of our society.