Transcript of audio:
We see a direct correlation between the first reading and the Gospel this week.
In the Gospel, Jesus is tested by a scribe who asks, "what is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus answers with the same words we hear in Deuteronomy – love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.
Then Jesus adds, "the second is this – You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Again, we are given the directive to love – to love God and to love like God, imitating His ever-present love even as a child might imitate a devoted parent.
The scribe is impressed with Jesus and understands that loving God and one another is more important than rituals and offerings.
To love is to care, to help, to lift up. Love in action is the very purpose of our lives.
