The WORD today reminds me that I should love God with all
that I have.
They
say that if you won't do your best, don't do it at all. Just
as important as what you do is how you do it. You should give your best. You
should give your all - no matter how simple what you are doing is. Doing your
best means you give your all - all you have, all you've got. You cannot control
the outcome of everything, but you can control how you do it. You can control
how much effort you give as you do it. This is true in different things in
life, but especially in loving God.
God
deserves our best, and we should give him that. We should give God our
everything.
In the gospel and in the first reading, we see how God
wants us to love him. Jesus
wants us to love
God with everything -
all our heart, soul, mind and strength. He wants our whole being. He wants all
of us, including all
our imperfections. He wants us to love him
and offer him everything, because only then can we experience his great love
and power. He wants us to love him and surrender to him everything. We need not
be holy as we love him. He accepts us as we are. And as we love him and give
him everything, he will fill us with everything of his. And as this happen, we
will feel his love and power and we will be transformed to be more and more
like him.
Loving
God with all we've got is not easy. But it surely is necessary for us to
realize and experience all his love as well. And still in the gospel, we see
the second greatest commandment and a concrete way if how we can love God - by
loving our neighbor. We should concretize and live our love for God. We should
make it real by loving others. We should make it real by being God's
ambassadors here on earth and by making God's love more real and more alive.
Do
I love God? Is he first in my life or do I have more important priorities? How
do I live my love for him? Do I serve him through others? Do I give him the
best I can, in all aspects of my life? Is my life pleasing to Him?
May
we give God our everything, and make his love more real and alive in this world.
Father God,
Thank you for today. Thank you for another day to live.
Thank you for another Sunday. Thank you for your reminder of how I should love
you. Lord, i am sorry for the times i don't love and serve you with all I have.
Sorry for holding back my actions for you. Sorry for giving excuses - that I'm
busy, that i'm tired, that I do other good things anyway. Help me surrender to
you. Help me love you, not the way i want to love you, but the way you want me
to love you. As I surrender, as I love you, I ask that you make me more and
more like you. Help me make your love more alive and more real in this world as
I love others. May you be pleased with me, my actions, and how I love you.
Amen.
Blessed Sunday!
In Christ,
-g-
Ps
See related reflection:
November
4, 2018
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary
Time
Lectionary: 152
Lectionary: 152
Reading 1 DT
6:2-6
Moses
spoke to the people, saying:
"Fear the LORD, your God,
and keep, throughout the days of your lives,
all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you,
and thus have long life.
Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them,
that you may grow and prosper the more,
in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers,
to give you a land flowing with milk and honey.
"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.
Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today."
"Fear the LORD, your God,
and keep, throughout the days of your lives,
all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you,
and thus have long life.
Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them,
that you may grow and prosper the more,
in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers,
to give you a land flowing with milk and honey.
"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.
Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today."
Responsorial Psalm PS 18:2-3,
3-4, 47, 51
R.
(2) I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives! And blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives! And blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
Reading 2 HEB 7:23-28
Brothers
and sisters:
The levitical priests were many
because they were prevented by death from remaining in office,
but Jesus, because he remains forever,
has a priesthood that does not pass away.
Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him,
since he lives forever to make intercession for them.
It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:
holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,
higher than the heavens.
He has no need, as did the high priests,
to offer sacrifice day after day,
first for his own sins and then for those of the people;
he did that once for all when he offered himself.
For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests,
but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,
appoints a son,
who has been made perfect forever.
The levitical priests were many
because they were prevented by death from remaining in office,
but Jesus, because he remains forever,
has a priesthood that does not pass away.
Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him,
since he lives forever to make intercession for them.
It was fitting that we should have such a high priest:
holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners,
higher than the heavens.
He has no need, as did the high priests,
to offer sacrifice day after day,
first for his own sins and then for those of the people;
he did that once for all when he offered himself.
For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests,
but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,
appoints a son,
who has been made perfect forever.
Alleluia JN 14:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord;
and my father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord;
and my father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MK 12:28B-34
One
of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these."
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
'He is One and there is no other than he.'
And 'to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself'
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
"You are not far from the kingdom of God."
And no one dared to ask him any more questions
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these."
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
'He is One and there is no other than he.'
And 'to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself'
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
"You are not far from the kingdom of God."
And no one dared to ask him any more questions
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