Harvest Love
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November 2, 2024We have once again witnessed how our love for God and for our community became evident in the just concluded 35th Annual Harvest Festival last October 25-27, 2024. It was such a great event seeing our community working together sharing each other’s time, talent and treasure. What a beautiful sight seeing the body of Christ tirelessly making visible and concrete the two greatest commandments, love of God and love of neighbor which is the theme of our Gospel this 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time.
In the Gospel reading, a scribe came to Jesus asking which among the commandments is the greatest. The scribes who were scholars of the law have identified around 613 laws in the Old Testament and it might be, in the mind of one of the scribes, helpful to know which among these takes the central seat and Jesus responded by giving the two greatest commandments. The scribe, having an extensive knowledge of the law must have identified that the two commandments have references from the Old Testament,first, “Hear O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord alone; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)which every Jew should know by heart. The second, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:18)
The scribe agreed with what Jesus has said to which Jesus in turn told him “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” (Mark 12:34) Being not far is a one step closer but of course, being in the kingdom of God is what matters. The scribe was an expert of the law and knowledgeable of what it truly means to live out the commandments but having the knowledge is not enough which is the same way of saying having the knowledge of the Scripture is not an assurance of salvation. Having the knowledge of the law and the Scripture should strengthen our will to love God above all and to love our brothers and sisters the way we love ourselves.
Having the will to love is not just about feeling or affection. Perhaps, Jesus wants the scribe and us to realize that the will to love means our commitment to God and to our neighbors must be underlined. This same kind of level of commitment to God and to our community as we have to our own must be one of the driving forces that led to the success of our Annual Harvest Festival. The depth and character of our commitment to God can be seen at our commitment to serve our parish community.
Once again, we have proven that our love for God and our neighbors can bear much fruit when we take that love to the level of commitment. So we shall continue to commit to the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength, and we continue to commit to our community, the body of Christ as our own.Thank you and may God continue to bless us all!
