Love changes us. First we hear these words of Jesus as an external command, an imperative which we are ordered to do. With God’s help we try our best to obey. And we fail. We mess up. Yet, something happens. Something shifts. As we keep company with Jesus, we discover that not only has his love filled our hearts but our desires and motivations change. Our fears begin to heal. The desire to love and act out of love comes from the inside out. Christ loving us compels us to love others. And we begin to extend that same love to ourselves too.
May the pause you take to pray, create space for an encounter of Love.
Matthew 22:34-46 (NLT)
But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
They replied, “He is the son of David.”
Jesus responded, “Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah ‘my Lord’? For David said,
‘The Lord said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’
Since David called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?”
No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
For Reflection and Prayer:
Was there a word, phrase or image which caught your attention you as you listened to or slowly read the text? Quietly reflect on it in your prayer with Jesus. Journal your conversation.
Was there any particular emotion which emerged as you listened to the scripture? Notice it. Be curious about it. Talk it over with Jesus in your prayer.
Reflect on your desire to love and be loved. What stirs in you as you pray about this?
Savor any consoling words or pictures as you quietly rest in God.
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