Loving God and loving one's neighbor are inseparable in biblical teaching.

According to Christian doctrine, these two commands are two sides of the same coin;

your love for God is expressed and proven through your love for people,

and genuine love for people flows from your relationship with God.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Galatians 5:1-6

Christ freed us,

To make us really free. So remain firm, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

I, Paul, say this to you: if you receive circumcision, Christ can no longer help you.

Once more, I say, to whoever receives circumcision: you are now bound to keep the whole law.

All you, who pretend to become righteous through the observance of the law,

have separated yourselves from Christ, and have fallen away from grace.

As for us, through the Spirit and faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

In Christ Jesus, it is irrelevant whether we be circumcised or not; what matters is faith, working through love.

 

Ps 119:41, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48

Let your mercy come to me, O Lord.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Luke 11:37-41

As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to have a meal with him.

So he went and sat at table.

The Pharisee then wondered why Jesus did not first wash his hands before dinner.

But the Lord said to him, "So then, you Pharisees,

you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside yourselves you are full of greed and evil.

Fools! He who made the outside, also made the inside. But according to you,

by the mere giving of alms everything is made clean.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

To love God also means to love one's neighbor.

I was once asked whether faith is merely a following of what has been set or handed to us.

A person may tend to view faith as a mere obligation to fulfill a set of devotional practices.

Paul's words in his letter to the Galatians highlight what complements faith.

At a time when the requirements to follow Jesus are debated, Paul reminds the people of what is essential.

Our faith in Jesus always finds its way into love. Believing in Jesus Christ translates into action.

Jesus, in the Gospels, has made this all clear.

The two greatest commandments are inseparable – to love God also means to love one's neighbor.

The measure of one's faith in God will always be the act of love one performs.