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Commentary of the Gospell for the 23th of August of 2024
“In today’s Gospel, it says that the Sadducees, who were also teachers of the law, ask Jesus a question: ‘Which is the greatest commandment in the law?’ The Gospel says that their goal wasn’t really to know the answer, but to test Him. In other words, depending on His answer, they’d know how to categorize Jesus – either as a faithful and observant Jew or as a heretic who needed to be condemned.
I think there was also a slightly deeper motivation. In a world like the Jewish one of that time, full of rules and regulations – there were hundreds of them – fulfilling them ensured salvation. Deep down, there’s a concern about the relationship with God, an all-powerful lord on whom salvation or condemnation depends. The question of which rules to follow becomes the fundamental question that needs to be answered in order to know where you stand. The future life depends on finding the right answer.
For a large part of the Middle Ages, for many Christians, this was the key question of their lives: Will I be saved or not? How can I be sure I’m on the right path? But the question hasn’t disappeared. Even today, there are still people who ask themselves this question. And they’re not always elderly people.
The best part is in Jesus’ answer. Rather than directly answering the question, He shifts the focus to a different perspective. Where the questioner placed “commandments to be fulfilled,” Jesus speaks of love. Loving God and loving your neighbor are the key elements of the new reality of the Kingdom of God. It’s no longer about rules, commandments, or laws. It’s about love. And, logically, you can’t “love” out of obligation. Love comes from the heart. Love doesn’t need laws and rules. Love is always gratitude because we feel, we experience, that the other has given us much more than we have given. God has given us life. And before Him, we can only be grateful.
Moving from rules and laws to love is entering the Kingdom. Staying in the law is remaining at the door, but on the outside. Go ahead! That door is always open.”