Matthew 22,34-40.
Jesus has already been tested by questions about paying taxes to Caesar, by the Pharisees and Herodians (22,15-21), and then about the resurrection, by the Sadducees (22,23-33), and here in today’s gospel again by the Pharisees, about “the greatest commandment of the Law,” . At the time of Jesus Jewish Law, the Torah, had expanded to 613 precepts all of which were treated as of equal importance.
Deut. 6,5f. the Shema Yishrael, (Hear O Israel), the famous injunction requiring every Jew to worship the one true God, with all their heart/emotions, soul , and mind, is quoted by Jesus as the first commandment. Not only is it the first but also the greatest commandment. He states the second commandment by quoting Leviticus 19,18, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” which occurs right at the mid-point of the Torah, thereby highlighting its importance. The whole Law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. They are the essence of Jewish religion.
There are two main reasons why the people of Israel loved and praised God ; (1) because He was the Creator, the God who made the wonderful world and all that is in it, and (2) He was the God who saved and liberated them from slavery in Egypt, around 1250 BC. He made a covenant of love with them at Mt Sinai through which He became their God and they became his people. He gave them the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, as a token of His care and providence for them. The Shema prayer, Deut. 6,4-6, recited by every Jew every morning and evening, celebrates God’s love for His people and expresses their love, the love of the whole person, heart, soul, mind, and senses, for Him. It is the first prayer which every Jewish child learns by heart.
The second commandment follows logically from the first. The creation of the human person, made in the” image and likeness” of God Himself, (Gen 1,26), -“male and female HE created them” (Gen 1,27),- was the highpoint of God’s creative work. “God saw all that He had made and indeed it was very good,” (Gen. 1,31), – the only part of God’s creation so described.
When we love our neighbour, made in the image and likeness of God, we are also loving God who made him/her. When we keep the second commandment, we keep the first as well and vice versa.
“Love your neighbour as yourself.” Very often the second part of this command is ignored or misunderstood. Loving oneself is sometimes confused with selfishness, which it isn’t. The basis for loving oneself is because God loves us. He has loved each one of us from all eternity, with an infinite love. He has loved us unconditionally, and we haven’t earned or cannot earn his love. It is a completely free gift. We exist because God loved us, and he loves us because we exist. God chose that we should exist because each of us is special reflection of His beauty, love, and goodness. We are made in his image and likeness for some special reason which God knows and we will find out when we will meet Him.
How do show your love for God in your life? How do your love your neighbour? Do you really love yourself? Have you taught your child/children how to pray?
The Our Father, recited slowly and thoughtfully, could be called our Christian “Shema prayer.
Fr Geoff O’Grady