What would you answer if someone asked you what is the most important thing in your life? I think that after a bit of discussion, we would all agree that the most important thing in life is to be happy. What good is it to have everything in the world if you are not happy? What good is it to be rich and able to figuratively part the seas if your heart is empty? What good is it to enjoy yourself without restraint, indulging in all the pleasures the world has to offer, if, in the end, it all amounts to nothing and leaves you with an increasing emptiness in your heart? What good is it to be famous or have power over many if, at the end of the day, you find yourself alone and unloved? Up to this point, I believe we can agree without difficulty.
However, I think there is another, much more important question tied to these considerations: what truly makes you happy in life, or better yet, what gives you that peace of heart we humans so deeply long for? Today's readings address this. In the first reading from the book of Deuteronomy, Moses tells the people, “Fear the Lord your God by... always keeping his laws and commandments... take care to do them so that you may prosper.” The commandments of God are the foundation of every civilised society. The basis for most of them is built on the fundamental principle: “Do to others as you would have them do to you, and do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.” God's commandments are like traffic rules; they help us use our freedom wisely and not abuse it. They guide us to our destination without harming ourselves or others. A society that disregards God's commandments destroys itself.
Above all, God's commandments can be summarised in one word: LOVE. It is no coincidence that Saint Augustine tells us: “Love and do what you will.” True freedom is found in love, and love leads to true freedom. Today's psalm declares: “I love you, Lord, my strength! The Lord is my rock.” How important it is to ask ourselves sincerely, “What am I building my life on? On God (Love), the rock, or on something or someone else, or perhaps on myself?” If I am building my life on something or someone other than God, or on myself, then I am building on sand, and sooner or later, I will face the loss of everything.
In today's Gospel, a scribe asks Jesus a very important question: “Which is the first of all the commandments?” In other words, what is the most important thing in life? And the Lord answers him: “The first is this: ... You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And the second is this: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” How important is this in my life? Are the love of God and my neighbour my top priorities, or is something else in first place?
Lord, help me understand that I cannot love you if I do not love my neighbour, and I cannot truly love my neighbour if I do not love you. Help me not to be selective in my love for others, not to love only those who love me or please me, but to see you in every person I encounter, especially in the poor and the suffering. Amen.