Love for God and Neighbour Cannot Be Separated
My dear brothers and sisters, the "law and the prophets" that Jesus refers to in the Gospel Matthew 22:34-40 were considered by the Jews to contain the absolutely unique self-revelation of the one, true God to his only Chosen People. Possessing this revelation made ancient Israel more privileged than all other nations and peoples.
Therefore, when the Pharisee (who, like all Pharisees, was an expert in "the law and the prophets") asks Jesus to identify the greatest among the 613 commandments of the Old Testament, he is really challenging Christ to give an interpretation of the entire history and reality of the Israelite nation. We can imagine Christ fixing his eyes on those of the questioner, wondering how sincere the question really was.
St Matthew doesn't tell us how the Pharisee reacted, but we can imagine that he was surprised, if not downright shocked. Jesus had been asked to name one commandment, but then he listed two. The shrewd Pharisees would have noticed this.
In listing two commandments, Jesus was pointing out that you cannot separate loving God from loving one's neighbour. And that's exactly what many of the Pharisees did every single day.
God is our Creator and Savior; his love is both universal and personal. He loves every single human being so much that he gave his life on the cross to pay the price for each person's sin, to open the gates of heaven to every single person who is willing to follow him.
And so, if someone truly loves God with all their heart, it would be a contradiction not to treat one's neighbours - those very people whom God loves and suffered to save - with sincere and self-sacrificing respect. The old saying applies above all to God: A friend of yours is a friend of mine.
St. Almachius Beats the Gladiators
This is one of the great differences between Christian saints and the wise spiritual heroes of other religions: the saints learn to be close to God, but they also learn to constantly go out of their way to serve their neighbors.
One surprising example is the case of St Almachius [ahl- MAHK-ee-uhs]. He lived in Palestine around the year 400. From an early age he felt called to love God wholeheartedly by following a life of prayer and penance. For many years he lived as a hermit in the desert wastelands, doing just that. Eventually, however, the Holy Spirit entrusted him with a surprising mission to his neighbors.
Even though Christianity by this time was the Roman Empire's official religion, the infamous and very pagan gladiatorial combats were still regularly held in the Roman coliseum. The Romans loved those "sporting events," which inevitably resulted in unjust, bloody, and cruel deaths for valiant men.
Many gladiators were prisoners or slaves being forced to entertain the crowds by their gruesome combat, as if they were no better than savage beasts. It was a frontal assault against the human dignity of these men who had been created in God's image and redeemed by Christ.
Driven by the Holy Spirit, Almachius made his way to Rome when one such event was in full swing. He entered the amphitheatre, climbed down to the arena floor, and interposed himself between the primary combatants, who were engaged in their death struggle.
This scrawny hermit did his best to separate them, invoking the name of the Lord. The fans, thirsty for blood, were furious. They hurled every manner of projectile at the unprotected monk, stoning him to death.
Fortunately, the Emperor heard about the affair and took it as a sign from God. From then on, such beastly games were forbidden; Christian love had been victorious.
A Secret Weapon for Christ-like Love
In today's world, people are very busy. Sometimes we even feel much too busy to take time to reach out to neighbours in need. It is very possible, however, that at the end of our life we will see things quite differently. But even in the midst of our busy-ness, we can make an effort to love God by loving our neighbour, precisely in the way we interact with the people around us.
A true Christian should always remember that people matter more than things. We should never be too busy for a kind word or a sincere smile. But those of us who really are super-busy can also make use of a secret weapon that allows us to do more in less time, to fulfill both of Christ's two great commandments in one action.
And it doesn't add anything at all to our to-do list or calendar. It's so simple that you might be tempted to shrug it off when I tell you - but that would be a major mistake. What is this secret weapon? Praying for other people.
When we pray for people, we are exercising both loves at the same time: we show our love for God by talking to him and expressing confidence in his goodness and power, and we show our love for our neighbour by caring about them. Each one of us should have a list of people we pray for regularly - family members, coworkers, orphans, politicians, Christians suffering persecution...
We should keep the list somewhere that we will have a chance to use it - near the windshield of the car or the counter where we fold the laundry... (The pope keeps his on his kneeler, where he does his morning and evening prayers.)
To pray regularly and sincerely for others - it's the secret weapon for loving God and loving our neighbour. During the Mass, let's promise to use that weapon well.