by Father Alonzo Cox
My family and I were very lucky to have developed a great relationship with our neighbors. We all moved into our respective townhouses in Brooklyn around the same time. I vividly remember my parents bringing my sister and me to meet the neighbors. From the moment we all met, I had a feeling this was going to be a good fit for all of us.
Whenever we would go on vacation, our neighbors would check up on the house. When the neighbors went on vacation, we would babysit their pet. As the years passed by, our relationship with our neighbors deepened. We were there with and for each other through the joys and sorrows of life. In a very special way, we grew out of a typical neighbor-to-neighbor relationship. We have truly become family.
Now, I am very much aware that our luck with our neighbors is not always the case. I have heard the horror stories of neighbors who create havoc for each other. Whether it’s regarding noise, property lines, lights, pets, or whatever the situation might be, the neighbor relationship can be difficult.
Jesus is speaking to us today about love of neighbor. Even in the most difficult of situations with our neighbor next door, down the hall from us, or even the person we may share a pew with on Sunday, the Lord calls us to love in the same way we love ourselves.
The scribes in today’s gospel are very much aware of the commandment to love God. We hear Moses utter these words in our first reading from the Book of Deuteronomy. It is very clear how we should love God — with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. To love God with all our heart, mind, strength, and soul shows us how important God is in our lives. This love is meant to be transformative.
Our entire being is meant to love the God who created us. Jesus now goes even deeper by giving us the second part of this “love commandment.” In addition to love of God, we are called to love our neighbor. That can be a bit of a challenge. Jesus is asking us to love people who we may find it very difficult to love. Jesus is calling us to love the person, whether they be family, friends, co-workers, or fellow parishioners,
who push our buttons or may not like us.
As Christians, we know that to love our neighbor is to love God. We are all children of God, created in his image and likeness. To love one another, even through our own weakness and doubts, is to love the God who loves us in return.
God loves us so much that he sent to us his only begotten son, Jesus Christ. Our Lord is love itself, as he gives of himself for us. In our second reading today from the Letter to the Hebrews, Jesus is the high priest who offered himself and saved those who approach God through him.
When we come to Jesus, he intercedes with God on our behalf. Let us pray for an increase in love. Love for God and love for neighbor go hand in hand. We pray that our Heavenly Father will give us the courage and strength to love all our brothers and sisters, even those we find difficult to love. To love them with all our heart, mind, strength, and soul is to truly love the God who molded and created us.
Readings for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Dt 6:2-6
Heb 7:23-28
Mk 12:28b-34
Father Cox is pastor of St. Martin de Porres Parish, Bedford-Stuyvesant, and coordinator for the vicariate of Black Catholic Concerns for the Diocese of Brooklyn.
