Something Very Near to You

"For this command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you.  It is not up in the sky, that you should say, 'Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?'  Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, 'Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?'  No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out."  What a beautiful passage we heard today from the book of Deuteronomy.   The commands of the Lord are not mysterious or difficult that we cannot know them; rather they are simple, sometimes so simple we look past the words, thinking, no, it cannot be that easy, but it is.  The words that God gave us through Moses were simple, the command comes down to love as is also affirmed from today’s Gospel, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

Even though the command is a simple one it is sometimes difficult to carry out.  The difficulty is not in the commandment itself, rather the difficulty arises in us.  When we turn inwards, for all sin, I believe is an inward movement towards self, i.e. selfishness.  I do not mean self care, relaxation, meditation, prayer, etc. I mean those things that are sinful, that are vices.  When a person over indulges in drink, that is an inward movement of selfishness, i.e. I want to feel a certain way.  The same can be said for over indulging in food, becoming a workaholic, ignoring ones prayers, becoming prideful, vengeful, etc.  All of those sins impede or altogether prevent true love flowing into me and out of me.  The command becomes difficult and even burdensome.

We are used to the two part command, but in that two part command is also implied, self love.  We must also love ourselves, not to the point of pride or selfishness, but know that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by our God and that through His grace we become like gods, higher even than the angels.  I have to be able to love myself, love others and love God.

I spoke previously about some of the things that hold us back from following the commandment of love; I would now like to speak about some of the remedies or the virtues that help us to love.  The virtues that help us come right from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.  He says faith, hope, and love are three of the greatest virtues.  We are to have faith, not only belief in God, but to trust Him in both good times and bad.  We are to hope for the best and our final hope is union with God.  And finally love, in this sense love as sacrifice.  Before that Paul speaks of kindness, honesty, humility, and perseverance, all which help us to move outwards towards God and neighbor.  Instead of us being selfish we are now being selfless.

During the week we should try to remember this two part command and exercise to the best of our ability to love self, others, and God.  Opportunities always arise in which we can show love, let us not miss those opportunities because it is in those opportunities that we bring about the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of faith, hope and love.  God bless you, Fr. John