Love of God and Love of Neighbour

Even though the war between Israel and Hamas is tearing apart some many lives it is remarkable that in the midst of such conflict, there are still voices that are seeking to reach out and offer solutions and hope. The testimony of family members who have spoken about their loss on both sides is harrowing and tragic and so very hard to listen to, yet among all the words small gestures are seen and heard that offer glimpses of hope. As we are confronted by the images we see, our hearts are broken too. What is the answer? Where are we to find a solution that will build the trust and the hope that ensures that justice and peace will emerge from the wreckage that has been visited on so many. The path of peace is indeed a long and twisted one, which makes massive demands. It seems that whenever tentative steps are taken to explore the way of reconciliation opposing voices can easily subvert such a desire to offer a different future. But what is the alternative after so many years of hatred and mistrust?

The question in the gospel today was spoken with just such a tone of dissent. Spoken in order to generate another dispute, another angry argument about who holds authority and power. We look to our religion, our faith, not to generate anger or hate. Not to embed division or separation but to express solidarity and union with one another. Even when we differ or when we dispute with one another, our religion must not be the instrument by which we enforce our differences. Our religion must not be the vehicle which creates vast spaces between us, rather it must be the pathway through which such differences and spaces can be narrowed, overcome, and bridged.

Jesus co-joins the command to love God with the commission to love neighbour. For him they are coincident realities. Jesus later explains what this means with the parable of the Good Samaritan. Two thousand years later we are still trying to get our heads around the implications of that parable for us, so we can see just how long the path of peace takes to walk. How many times have we observed the one fallen on the side of the road and passed by. We can’t claim that we love God if we go and do that to our neighbour. In other words, you can’t have the one without the other and that the two must walk hand in hand, feeding our lives and guiding our steps.