30th Week in Ordinary Time : Sunday 29th October 2023

Jesus had just silenced the Sadducees who had tried to catch Him out with a problem to which they believed He had no answer.

Now it was the turn of the Pharisees. They came to Him in a group with a question they felt He would answer wrongly. They wanted to know what He thought was the greatest commandment in the Law.

There were more than 600 laws and much discussion about which of them were more important. Jesus answered them by quoting from the books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus, two books of the Law.

One Law tells us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind; the other tells us to love our neighbour as ourselves. Jesus says that the whole of the Law is contained in these two statements. They asked for one piece of Law, but Jesus gave them two.

For Him, though, they are one – the love of God and the love of brothers and sisters cannot be separated. And in keeping them, everything else is taken care of. Do we really believe this?

Lord, help me love You and all those around me as You love them.