Weekly Reflection 10/25/2020

Reflection for 10-25-2020

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

 

“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment.” – Jesus

Oh my!  Why couldn’t Jesus have made the greatest commandment to keep holy the Sabbath Day or to honor our father and mother?  We might have a chance with those.  How are we supposed to love God with everything we’ve got?  We can’t see Him or hear Him or touch Him.  God is a pure spirit in faraway heaven while we are flesh and blood humans bound by gravity to planet Earth.  How do we even begin to love God?

Well let’s think about that. Maybe we could start by recalling that God loved us into being.  He thought about all the details of just who each of us would be, then he carefully and lovingly fashioned us in our mother’s womb.  God delights in the individuality of each of us and continues to hold us in the palm of his hand each day of our lives.  If we think about this, it becomes easy to bestow on God the love of the created for the Creator.

Another aspect to consider is that God humbled Himself and walked among us in human form for thirty-three years; then paid the price for our sins by giving his human life as a ransom for ours on the cross.  In this way, God provided us with the opportunity to love him with the love of the rescued for the Rescuer.

And then, there’s God’s presence in all of creation.  We can see God’s beauty in the intricacy of a rose and the magnificence of a sunset, hear his voice in the song of the birds and the rolling thunder, feel his touch in the warmth of the sun and the gentle evening breeze.  He has provided all of the wonders of creation for our enjoyment and use; but also as a way to know and experience Him and his love for us.  And so, we feel the love of the gifted for the generous Giver.

Maybe loving God is easier than we thought.  All we need to do is remember all the roles that he plays in our lives – our loving Creator; our humble Redeemer; the generous Giver of all good things.  When we think of God in this way, it becomes second nature to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind!