“And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 10:12).
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And
he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And
a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two
commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:36-40).
Meditating on these words from both the Law and the Gospel, I invite you to
think about them as we read from the 2nd Century Church father, St.
Irenaeus, who wrote “A Treatise Against Heresies”.
“Our Lord, the Word of God, first drew men to God as
servants, but later he freed those made subject to him. He himself testified to
this: I do not call you servants any longer, for a servant does not
know what his master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, since I have made
known to you everything that I have learned from my Father. Friendship with
God brings the gift of immortality to those who accept it.
In the beginning, God created Adam, not because he needed
man, but because he wanted to have someone on whom to bestow his blessings. Not
only before Adam but also before all creation, the Word was glorifying the
Father in whom he dwelt and was himself being glorified by the Father. The
Word himself said: Father, glorify me with that glory I had with you
before the world was.
Nor did the Lord need our service. He commanded us to follow
him, but he was the gift of salvation. To follow the Savior is to share in
salvation; to follow the light is to enjoy the light. Those who are in the
light do not illuminate the light but are themselves illuminated and
enlightened by the light. They add nothing to the light; rather, they are
beneficiaries, for they are enlightened by the light.
The same is true of service to God: it adds nothing to God,
nor does God need the service of man. Rather, he gives life, immortality, and
eternal glory to those who follow and serve him. He confers a benefit on his
servants in return for their service and on his followers in return for their
loyalty, but he receives no benefit from them. He is rich, perfect, and in need
of nothing.
The reason why God requires service from man is this:
because he is good and merciful he desires to confer benefits on those who
persevere in his service. In proportion to God’s need of nothing is man’s need
for communion with God.
This is the glory of man: to persevere and remain in the
service of God. For this reason, the Lord told his disciples: You did
not choose me but I chose you. He meant that his disciples did not
glorify him by following him, but in following the Son of God they were
glorified by him. As he said: I wish that where I am they also may be,
that they may see my glory.
This is what the Lord God asks of you:
— to fear him, and to love and serve him with all your heart and soul.
This is the first and the greatest commandment:
— To fear him, and to love and serve him with all your heart and soul.
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Almighty ever-living God,
look with compassion on our weakness
and ensure us your protection
by stretching forth the right hand of Your Majesty.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.
— Amen.
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