May Jesus Christ be
praised and may his holy Mother pray for us.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. With clarity and simplicity the Lord Jesus commands us to love. With the authority of the Son, the Lord Jesus commands us to love the Father. With the authenticity of a life of justice, compassion, and truth, the Lord Jesus commands us to love our neighbor. With clarity and simplicity the Lord Jesus commands us to love. But dear brothers and sisters, there is a love that comes before the giving of the command.
We do not love God because we have been commanded. We love God because we have responded. We did not begin this relationship. We were not the first to profess our love. It is God who has loved us from all eternity. It is the Lord God who needs nothing, who has desired us in love. We were created in the love of God so that God could share his love with us. We do not love God because we have been commanded. We love God because we have responded.
Our response of love to God’s love calls us to turn away from every idol that seeks our worship. Our response of love to God’s love calls us to reject every invitation that does not come forth from the mouth of God. Our response of love to God’s love calls us to give ourselves totally and completely, without condition, without reservation, and without exception, into the hands of the Living God. We lift up our hearts to the Lord because the heart of the Lord is pierced with love for us. We do not love God because we have been commanded. We love God because we have responded.
Our response of love to God’s love calls us to share that love with our neighbor. Remembering that our ancestors were once slaves in Egypt, our response of love to God’s love calls us to combat every denial of human dignity. Remembering the poverty of the Savior in Bethlehem; our response of love to God’s love calls us to see the holy face of Jesus Christ in the face of the poor and the suffering. Our response of love to God’s love is offered to God in our worship and extended from God in our service.
We do not love God because we have been commanded. We love God because we have responded. We have been claimed by the love that God has for us. With the apostle John we have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. This is the love of God that surrounds us before any command of God is given to us. This is the love of God that fills our souls with the light of glory and makes of us radiant signs of the love of God. Radiant, dear brothers and sisters, in the light of the love of Jesus Christ, we shall be signs that light the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen.
Preached
at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, Monroe, NC
