Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today's Mass Readings

Today the Sacred Scriptures speak to us about the first and greatest commandment that Jesus left us: the command to love God above all things. Like so much of the Christian life, it is better learned by doing it than asking how it is done. A story from the Hasidic masters exemplifies this. The Israel of Rizhin:

A man once said to him: ‘Rebbe, I so wish to repent, but I don’t know what to do.’

 ‘And to sin, you knew what to do?’

 ‘Yes, but that was easy. First I sinned, then I knew.’

 ‘Exactly. Now do the same the other way around. Start by repenting; you’ll know later.'”

Start by loving God; you will know later what loving God is! First experience, then reflection upon experience.

This is something closer to us than we often realize. For example, we are inspired by some beauty, whether it be a beautiful piece of music, a fine work of art, a handsome man or a beautiful woman. It is an opportunity to praise and love God. We did not create this beauty but we recognize it, we receive it.

Or, you’ve heard a friend talk many times and you’ve exchanged many views. One day you are momentarily struck by a certain goodness in this friend. It’s only a flash and is very fragile—it will soon be gone from consciousness. But you carefully take hold of it and savor it. And whether you say it to the person or not, freely you say it to yourself, with conviction, “You are good!” An important part of the experience is that it comes regardless of you. It may or may not serve your goals. It’s there and you applaud it, congratulate it. Whether you thought about God or not, this is contemplation. And a further wonder occurs: you have grown richer in yourself! You have been expand­ed and have joined the chorus in the universe, which does not center upon yourself but upon the Source of all Beauty and Truth! This is what Jesus is talking about. He does not command which to enslave us. He commands love of God to give us a way into true freedom and beauty, without the enslavement of lust, greed, ambition, and, in the end, having only ourselves to live with.

Rabbi Heschel puts it like this: “God’s dream is not to be alone, to have humankind as a partner in the drama of continuous creation. By whatever we do … we either advance or obstruct the drama of redemption; we either reduce or enhance the power of evil.”

Reflection by Fr. Xavier Nacke, OSB