When the Pharisees asked Jesus what the most important of the commandments was, they were really throwing him a curve ball.
The Pharisees’ question, which appears in the Gospel of St. Matthew, in Chapter 22, was for the purpose of putting Jesus in an awkward situation, because the Pharisees had over 700 rules, laws, and precepts that had to be faithfully and strictly obeyed by every good Jew. It was almost impossible for any master of the law to say what the first commandment was.
Jesus Christ, however, gets straight to the point and sums up all the law with one convincing answer: “This is the first and greatest commandment. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.”
In this way, Jesus had answered successfully, leaving the Pharisees without arguments.
Nevertheless, Jesus does not stop there: not only does he offer what the first of the commandments is, but he adds: “the second is like unto it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
No one had asked Jesus what the second commandment was; however, he decides to propose it. In this way, Jesus establishes something fundamental to Christian life: the intimate relationship that exists between loving God and loving one’s neighbor.
St. John tells us in his letter the importance of the relationship between loving God and loving one’s neighbor: “whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20)
This means that for us Catholics, the two tables of the law containing the ten commandments are intimately united: the first three commandments referring to God naturally lead to the other seven that refer to our relationship with our brothers: Honor your father and your mother, you shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, you shall not allow impure thoughts or desires, you shall not covet.
During a conference with young people in the city of Rome, the Servant of God, John Paul II, indicated that although the commandments seem to be negative with the wording “you shall not”, as a whole they really constitute the great “yes” to life: it is a “yes” to love, a “yes” to every human being.
And this positive understanding of the commandments is shared by Pope Benedict XVI, who recently pointed out that there is a mistaken idea of Catholicism as “a collection of prohibitions”, saying that it is necessary to be bold in speaking of the “joy that comes from following Christ and living according to his commandments” because, as St. Augustine said, “our hearts were made for the Lord and they find no peace until they rest in him.”
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Church is a valuable tool for understanding the scope of these seven commandments: from the role of the family to the search for peace in the world; touching on honesty, love for the poor and the true meaning of human sexuality.
That is why anyone who wants to better understand what the church teaches about love for one’s neighbor and how this love is manifested in a profound “yes” to human life, should review The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, especially points 455 to 533.
The Compendium explains the reason that leads us to respect the life and dignity of others: “Human life must be respected because it is sacred. From its beginning, human life involves the creative action of God and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end.” (Compendium 466)
With our eyes fixed on God, let us love our neighbor not only as ourselves, but as Jesus himself has loved us. We commend ourselves to him and to his holy mother to be true witnesses of the love that God has for us and has abundantly shed on us.
I hope this Thanksgiving weekend may be a time for you to enjoy with family and friends, for the many blessings that God has poured over us throughout the past year.
Happy Thanksgiving!