Matthew 22:34-40 tells us about The Greatest Commandment. Jesus got questioned by a Pharisee about which is the greatest commandment in the Law. For Jesus, the greatest commandment is love, a commandment that is easy to follow: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Most of the time, something is easier said than done as sometimes, it can be difficult to love ourselves and recognize that we deserve to be loved. With our daily routines and our rushed lives we tend to forget about our faith, we forgot to take time to take care of ourselves and take care of those that surround us. Now, more than ever we need to practice the greatest commandment that Jesus taught us.
We are currently living in an environment full of political and social tension but Jesus is calling us to practice tolerance and empathy, as well as to give and treat everyone with the fundamental dignity of the human person. We face the challenge of loving people who look and act differently and it is important to recognize that all of us are different, our classrooms and workplaces are often the places where we encounter a wide diversity of people who are closer to us and with whom we are constantly interacting with.
Jesus is calling to leave aside our differences, implicit biases, and prejudices, and start replacing them with love. Jesus also calls us to question ourselves what are our priorities in everything we do as we tend to overtake unimportant situations over the need for love. The message of Jesus is all-embracing and covers all our relationships, from family, friends, and partners. But it even goes further than that, as we are called to love the wider community.
