Key:
What these passages tell us about God
What these passages tell us to do
Commentary
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Moses spoke to the people, saying: "Fear the LORD, your God, and keep, throughout the days of your lives, all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you, and thus have long life.
Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them, that you may grow and prosper the more, in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers, to give you a land flowing with milk and honey.
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today."
Hear then, Israel, and be careful to observe them, that you may grow and prosper the more, in keeping with the promise of the LORD, the God of your fathers, to give you a land flowing with milk and honey.
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today."
R. (2) I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation,my stronghold!
I love you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation,my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives! And blessed be my rock! Extolled be God my savior. You who gave great victories to your king and showed kindnessto your anointed.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives! And blessed be my rock! Extolled be God my savior. You who gave great victories to your king and showed kindnessto your anointed.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The levitical priests were many because they were prevented by death from remaining in office, but Jesus, because he remains forever, has a priesthood that does not pass away. Therefore, he is always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever to make intercession for them.
It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests, but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law, appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.
It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that once for all when he offered himself. For the law appoints men subject to weakness to be high priests, but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law, appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord; and my father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord; and my father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this: 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. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these."
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One and there is no other than he.' And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself' is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
The gospel and first reading both command us to “love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul … and with all your strength” (emphasis added). The importance of this command is underscored by the fact that Jesus—God Himself—directly repeats what God explicitly told His people through Moses. So what is He describing?
1. God is talking about an intense, desirous, love. That is made clear by the Hebrew and Greek words originally used to describe this love. The Hebrew word is 'ahab. It refers to an intense appetite for something, to “desire, to breath after,” to “delight in.” The Greek word is agapaō. It means to “desire,” “long for,” to “take pleasure in,” to “prize above other things.”
2. It is a pervasive love. We are to love God with “all” our heart, soul, strength, and mind. That is made clearer in the original Hebrew and Greek. The Hebrew word translated as “all” is kol and the Greek is holos. They mean “the whole of” something, ““altogether,” “throughout.” Couple that with the command to devote “all” of our heart, soul, strength, and mind to the very intense love described in point one above and you see the pervasiveness of what is commanded. That dynamic is also discussed in Living the Eucharist, part 1 (readings from August 19, 2018).
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