Loving God and our neighbors

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Matthew 22:34–40

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

This Sunday, the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we will hear the Gospel passage that addresses the question we all ask ourselves at the end of the day: What is the most important aspect of religion and Christianity? How do we respond to the challenges of our relationships with God and others?

It was not easy for Jesus’ contemporaries to develop a clear understanding. Ordinary people felt lost. The scribes spoke of the 613 commandments contained in the Law. When the Pharisees questioned Jesus, He did not hesitate to answer them by recalling words that all Jewish men repeated daily at the beginning and end of each day: “Hear, O Israel: You shall love the Lord your God with all your soul and with all your heart.” Then He added what no one expected: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” These two commandments are the most important. For Jesus, they are inseparable. You cannot love God and ignore your neighbor.

It is worth recalling that the voice of God the Father was heard at both the Baptism and Transfiguration of Jesus, saying, “This is my beloved Son; listen to Him.” This voice echoes the announcement of the Incarnation of the promised Messiah. When the archangel Gabriel surprised Mary of Nazareth with God’s greeting, he invited her to conceive and give birth to “Emmanuel” — God with us. After saying, “Let it be done to me according to your word,” Mary conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and gave birth to the Son of God. “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God. Begotten, not made...” (Creed).

Therefore, we can say that the center of Christianity is Jesus. In other words, Christianity centers on a human being — a man who reveals, makes known, and explains the invisible God to us. This earthly Jesus was born, lived, and died in Palestine during the time of Pontius Pilate in the first century A.D. When Philip asked Him to show them God, Jesus responded in a surprising and instructive way: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9).

In His inaugural sermon at the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus explained His redemptive mission by quoting the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. He has sent me to proclaim the Good News to the poor...” That is, to every human being deprived of their dignity.

Let us also recall the Beatitudes, in which Jesus sets forth the criteria for entering the Kingdom of Heaven. At the Last Judgment, we hear him speak with complete clarity (Mt 25:34-40): “Come, you who my Father blesses. Take your inheritance: the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” When they reply in surprise, “Lord, we never saw you!” Jesus reaffirms human dignity: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

Therefore, love for our neighbor is quite clearly the center of our Christian life. Jesus gives us a new commandment: “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). Jesus explains, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends,” and he declares, “You are my friends” (Jn 15:14).