For the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time…
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.
Mark 12:29-30
Jesus summarizes the entirety of God’s Law in a few sentences. He repeats the Shema, the prayer Jews would pray every morning and evening, and at synagogue. It describes the relationship we are invited to have with God. And describes the depth of the relationship that Jesus invites his followers to share and live. God is to be first. And this requires our on-going self-examination.
Such love and commitment for God must flow from our heart, our inner depths. Our deepest conscience must have God as our priority. Is God truly on the throne of our hearts?
This chosen love of God must wrap up our souls, really, that means our whole selves, for we were created by God and are destined for “him whom my soul loves” (Song of Songs, 3:4).
Even our rational minds must be directed toward God. St. Paul reminds us to “be transformed by the renewal of our minds” (Romans 12:2). When we put God first in our thinking, a lot of other things get sorted out as they should be.
Finally, are we striving with all our strength to stay connected to God? Does our daily calendar and our spiritual efforts reflect this commitment?
As we examine ourselves, let us remember God’s first love of us. God made us and loves us, and really, such love starts and ends with him. We are invited to daily enter into that extraordinary love, receive that love, and then go and share that love.
Loving God, help me to better prioritize the way I live my life and love. Help me to keep you first, above all. Show me what to add and what to take away—to walk more closely with you.
