The First and Greatest Commandment

by Fr. Jess Ty  |  11/03/2024  |  Weekly Reflection

How do we practice in our lives the first and greatest commandment?

Obedience to God is the proof of our love for God. Jesus said: “If you love me, you will do what I commanded you.” For some of us it is not just following the Law, if we want to be perfect, as Jesus said to rich man, “Go sell all your possessions, give the proceeds to the poor, and come follow me.” This is the great challenge that Jesus offering to all of us today.

To Make Him and His will a priority in our lives, that is to love him above all else. I tried this and my life was changed and became a priest instead of a practicing Civil Engineer. It is a great adventure to fall in love with God. I am grateful to God for calling me to this vocation and for giving me you my Parishioners who are loving, and generous with your time, talent, and treasure.

The second commandment which is inseparable with the first is, “love your neighbor as yourself.” It is not about being nice or being tolerant, as our culture suggests. No, we fulfill this command by imitating Jesus, for He commanded us to “Love one another as I love you.” Two characteristics of this love are: First, it is a self-sacrificing love. “No has greater love than to lay down your life for your friend”. St Maximilian Kolbe did it and many other saints. A husband or a wife do love as Jesus loves.

Second, it is benevolent, wishing the highest good of the one you love. The highest good is know God, to encounter Him, and be possessed by him. We need to evangelize if we love our neighbor. To evangelize, is to introduce others to Jesus, the only God who loved us so much that He died for us and was raised from the dead. He continues to love us by giving us His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. The perfect sacrifice offered once and for all, that truly frees us from sin and death. Jesus alone can enable us first to receive God’s love, for the Eucharist is the Source of love, and second, to share this same love to all the people we meet.

May we all strive to love as He loves us.