HOMILY OF 31ST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B

HOMILY OF 31ST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B

HOMILY THEME: LOVE IS THE FULFILMENT OF THE LAW

BY: Fr. Sylvanus Ifeanyi Amaobi

Deut. 6:2-6, Heb. 7:23-28, Mk. 12:28-34

Dear brothers and sisters, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

THE SHEMA, AN ACT OF OFFERING AN UNDIVIDED HEART TO GOD IN LOVE

The people of Israel received the Decalogue (The Ten Commandments) through Moses. God asked them to keep and observe the commandments. In the first reading of today, Moses continues to urge the people, stressing to them the need to listen, obey, do, and observe the commandments of God. Moses sums up the commandment in what is traditionally called the “Shema” in the Jewish tradition, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength”.

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This demand to love God became the basic principle of the true Israelites. They were to bind “this pledge of allegiance,” “the Shema,” as a sign on their hands, put them on the frontals of their forehead, write them on the doorposts of their house and gates, and diligently teach them to their children and grandchildren. The basis of Israel’s obedience is the realization of the love of God for them, a love that is shown by God’s wonderful act of liberation and the promise to settle them in a land flowing with milk and honey. And to reciprocate the love of God, they must offer an undivided heart to God.

LOVE OF NEIGHBOR AT THE SERVICE OF LOVE OF GOD

When one of the Scribes asked Jesus, “Which is the first of all the commandments as we heard in the Gospel today, Jesus evidently recited the ‘Shema’ as summarized by Moses in the book of Deuteronomy. As stated earlier, the ‘Shema’ had become an important tradition that the Israelites recited in their morning and evening prayers to remind them of their obligation of love to God. However, Jesus went beyond reciting the “Shema” and gave a second law, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” He concludes by saying there is no other commandment greater than these. Love of neighbor is important because it is at the service of the love of God. There is no dichotomy between the love of God and the love of neighbor; instead, they complement one another. St John reminds us, “If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother (sister), he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother (sister) whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 Jn. 4:20). Therefore, the love of neighbor stems from the love of God since we are all created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26-27). We bear the imprint of God, the “Imago Dei,” as St Augustine would call it. The Love of God is exemplified and shown in the love of neighbor.

St. Paul further expounds on the teaching of Jesus Christ in his Letter to the Romans. He enjoins the Romans and us to “owe nothing to anyone, except love since one who loves fulfills the law. The commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill. You shall not steal, you shall not covet, and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:8-10).

OUR CHALLENGE

We are called and challenged to show and express our love to God and one another. This love is not shown or proven by words. Instead, it is demonstrated by our commitment to doing God’s will, living according to His will, and accepting His plans in our lives. It is lived out through our devotedness to Him and our dutiful services and care to one another.

Jesus Christ has taught us how to love God and the people. He did this by doing the will of His Father, which He calls His food (John 4:34), and becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). Jesus Christ’s death on a cross is an expiatory sacrifice to God which He offered for the people, once for all as the holy, innocent, and undefiled High Priest, as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews informs us in the second reading. Peter puts it thus, “Realize that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb (1 Pet. 1:18-19). Our Challenge, therefore, is to continue to imitate Jesus Christ in His sacrificial love of God and people.

Always remember that Jesus loves you!

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