Deacon Joseph Nhat Tran

LOVE TO BECOME HOLY

Mk 12:28b-34

A woman finds a magic lamp, and as she rubs it, a genie appears. The woman asks the genie for three wishes: 1. “When my husband sleeps, I want to always be by his side.” 2. “When he wakes up in the morning, I want to be the first thing he reaches for.” 3. “I want him to take me everywhere he goes.” And with a whoosh, the genie turns the woman into a smartphone! (from Houston Chronicle, “Joke on Us,” Dec. 3).

Everyone needs to love and to be loved. Love is part of our human nature because we are made in the image of God, who is Love. God also created life so that we could love Him, as He offers us life now and in eternity.

Reflecting on today’s Gospel, I wonder why Jesus, in answering the scribe’s question, “Which is the greatest commandment?” didn’t respond with the first of the Ten Commandments: “Worship God, have no other gods beside Me.” Instead, He responded, “You shall love the Lord your God…” So, why does Jesus place love above all?

I think Jesus is being very practical. Belief alone in someone unseen is difficult. But we can have faith in those whose love we see in action. It’s similar to how children believe in their parents because they witness their parents’ love in action. Love builds faith.

Loving God requires our effort to seek Him, to think of Him, and to learn about Him. This is how we can truly love God “with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength.” Observing the universe and all of God’s kindnesses helps us see His works. With gratitude, we develop a deep love for God and a lasting faith in Him.

Loving God is harder than believing in God. We can believe in something or someone without it impacting our lives. But true love requires actions that show our commitment. Many people believe in God, yet that belief does not change their lives. Without living faith, we cannot see the truth and may easily stumble when challenged—such as by a terminal illness or the pandemic, which has taken around 5 million lives worldwide.

How should we view the pandemic? Does it strengthen or weaken our faith? Is it a wake-up call, reminding us that life on earth is short and temporary? Do such challenges help us see that life is a journey, not our ultimate destination?

If so, we need to dedicate time to spiritual matters, such as disciplining ourselves, taking up our cross daily, going through the narrow gate, and seeking eternal life.

In trials like the pandemic or incurable illness, we may not perceive God’s goodness in the way we desire, no matter how earnestly we pray. This can shake our faith. Here, we need to love God more than ever because in love, we focus on the good.

People in love accept everything from each other, even when they don’t fully understand. When we love God, we see good even amid hardship. We do not view pandemics or illnesses as punishment. Instead, we see them as gentle reminders of our final destination: Heaven, with God. These trials give us a chance to humble ourselves and proclaim, “You are my Lord and my God.” Love sustains our faith in difficult times.

Yet, loving God is incomplete without loving others.

God reveals His love to us in marvelous ways. We feel heard when God answers our prayers. Our faith grows so strong that we sometimes put faith above love. This happens when we become angry with our children for not praying or going to church or when we look down on those who are not as religious as we are. Worse, we may even try to impose our will on others if they don’t believe in God.

When dealing with people who differ from us in faith, we sometimes use harsh words or actions to compel them to act as we think they should. In an exaggerated sense, loving God exclusively can turn us into fanatics willing to abuse our faith—even to harm others who believe differently. This turns faith into an ego-driven pursuit rather than a journey of love.

That’s why loving God must go hand-in-hand with loving others. This is why Jesus combines these two elements, quoting both today’s reading (Dt 6:6) and Leviticus (19:18b), into one commandment we summarize as “love God and love others as yourself.”

Why does Jesus emphasize “love others as yourself”?

Loving others not as ourselves is relatively easy because we might love them only as we choose, with conditions. We might do charitable acts to impress others or to ease our conscience, ultimately serving our ambition. We end up using others rather than truly loving them.

In observing Jesus’ life, we see that the most essential part of loving others as ourselves is to help them recognize their own dignity. The adulterous woman in John’s Gospel rediscovered her dignity through Jesus’ non-judgmental attitude. The prodigal son realized his dignity as a son, not a slave, and returned to his father. Jesus’ Passion reveals to us that human dignity—not wealth, power, or status—is of the highest value. We are so precious that the Son of God emptied Himself to become human and redeem us through His suffering on the cross. Once we understand our dignity, we avoid devaluing ourselves through sin.

In a family, loving each other means not only caring for but also respecting, listening to, and accepting one another, especially our children. Once our children recognize their worth as creations in God’s image, they will strive to uphold that image with good values.

For couples, love should inspire growth in virtue by courageously helping each other correct mistakes, leaving behind bad habits, and striving to become the best partners.

In a faith community, people will feel valued if their voices are heard, their contributions welcomed, and their talents utilized for the common good. They will feel valued through the well-prepared and respectful services they receive.

“Loving God and loving others as ourselves” is “worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” in terms of atonement. How could this be?

Looking at Jesus, we see that He demonstrated His love by humbly submitting His will to God’s, accepting the ultimate sacrifice. We, too, make sacrifices in terms of time and money for others and especially in giving up our own “self” to do good—not for ourselves, but for others—according to God’s will. Surrendering our will is not easy, but just as Jesus sacrificed His will for our redemption, we can atone for our sins through our own sacrifices.

Humility is the foundation of all virtues. It helps us recognize our weaknesses, remove the obstacles within ourselves, and see ourselves more clearly. Just as a disease can only be treated if we acknowledge it, with humility, we approach God as the Great Physician, seeking healing, which is worth “more than all burnt offerings,” as Psalm 51 says: “For you do not desire sacrifice; a burnt offering you would not accept. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn” (v. 18-19).

In conclusion, loving God and others as ourselves helps us become holy. It enables us to control our lifestyles and actions towards others. We need love to understand who we are, what we need, where we are going, and how to get there. Knowing is easy; doing is hard. May God give us the strength to love Him and others as ourselves.