Love is the answer!

But what is the question? The scribe in the gospel asks Jesus “what is the greatest commandment?” Jesus answer is love – love God with all that you have and are and your neighbour as yourself. It was a seemingly simple answer, and yet the scribe recognized the depth of meaning in Jesus’ response; the call to love is greater than all the other commandments, sacrifices and whole burnt offerings.

In the gospel, Jesus’ response to the scribe is that the scribe is not far from the kingdom of God. If the scribe were to live what he has heard and understood, he would truly be living as part of God’s kingdom. All of Jesus’ words and actions throughout his public ministry, as well as his passion, death and resurrection, are a living example of his response to the scribe’s question.

November 3 is the feast day of St. Martin de Porres, a Dominican brother in colonial Peru, the illegitimate child of a formerly enslaved Afro-Panamanian woman and a Spanish nobleman. While Martin was said to have many miraculous powers, his specialty was service; living out the two great commandments referenced by Jesus in the Gospel. Once, he encountered a sore-ridden beggar and brought him to his own bed in the monastery. When the superior reprimanded him for allowing a dirty, contagious stranger into the cloister, Martín replied that he could easily wash sheets, but not the guilt of ignoring the poor. He went on to tell the superior, “Compassion, dear brother, is preferable to cleanliness.”

As is read some of Martin’s history and reflected on the readings for this Sunday’s liturgy, I couldn’t help but reflect on my own reading of the gospel passage. It is easy to respond to Jesus’ words regarding love of God and neighbour intellectually; most people have probably heard that passage, or variations of it at one time or another – or many times! I can give intellectual assent to the message, but then I have to ask myself if the message has touched my heart. Or am I more like those religious authorities who were more concerned about observance of the many tenets of the law and ignored the command to love?

We may not all be called to rescue every beggar, addict or homeless person we encounter along the road, but Martin’s example of service calls us to more than mere lip service in our care for others. It is good and necessary to contribute of our treasure to assist those in need, but we can mistake that for the kind of love called for by Jesus. Martin’s admonition to have compassion speaks to the heart and to the attitudes with which we approach those we encounter along the journey. Who are the people I do not see and recognize as my brothers and sisters, worthy of the same care and compassion Jesus shows to me? What attitudes do I carry in my heart that make others “less”? What is the conversion I have to undergo in order to be “not far from the kingdom of God”? How am I called to live out my vocation as a disciple of Jesus? These questions and their answers resound throughout the gospels; do we hear them and take them to heart? Do they make any difference in the way we live our lives?

By Richard Beaudette, OMI