Homily
for August 25, 2017
The love
of God is the summary of all the commandments. It is also the greatest of them
all. What does it mean to love God? It means to value God so much in your heart
that you would rather die than offend him.
At the
heart of Christian worship is love. Another word for love is worship. To love
is to worship. In other words, if we were to really love God, we would truly
worship him by keeping every one of his commandments even if we don’t feel like
keeping them. To love God is to sacrifice one’s own will for the sake of doing
the will of God.
Take away
love, and all that we do in Church becomes a waste of time and energy, a show
or drama so to say! This was why Jesus had to ask Peter this question three
times, “Do you love me?” “Peter, do you love me more than these?” “Peter, do
you really love me more than these?” How can we claim to be serving God if we
love other things more than God?
The first
and greatest commandment is also intricately connected to the second
commandment which is: “You shall love you neighbour as yourself.” Of course, as
St. John says: “If any one says, "I
love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love
his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” 1 John
chapter 4, verse 20.
The Story
of Ruth and Naomi in the Bible is a story of Love. How I wish our women will
increase the love they love they have for their mothers-in-law and stop seeing
them as enemies trying to compete for attention over their sons.
Ruth
refused to leave Naomi, her mother-in-law because she was wise enough to know
that Naomi, being an aged woman cannot survive on her own without help. Here
comes another lesson in love; the care for the old.
I often
wonder why our old people are not treated with as much care and love as they
deserve. I wonder why the moment a person is old, he or she is suddenly
labelled a witch even by their own children.
Love is
empty if it doesn’t require anything from you. Mind you, love is not just a
feeling. Just as loving God demands our whole hearted worship, loving our
neighbours also demands sacrifice on our part.
Let us
pray: Lord Jesus, help me to love you with better each day. Amen.
Be Happy.
Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Friday of the 20th Week in
Ordinary Time. Bible Study: Ruth 1:1-22 and Matthew 22:34-40).
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