Matthew 22:34-40 “in a snailshell”
Friday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
©️2021 Gloria M. Chang
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:34-40
As flowers receive sunshine and give fragrance to all,
Shining God to neighbors is the essence of our call.
Traditional Chinese Translation
《上帝的愛與鄰舍》
就像花朵接受陽光，給萬物帶來芬芳。
使上帝的榮光普照鄰居則是我們呼召的本質。
Dear GMC, the call to love is exponential in your reflection. The interconnectedness of God, man, and nature is undeniable but can be ruptured through sin, hate and exploitation. We cannot say we love God, yet hate neighbor and do damage to nature. We need everyone and everything too much. In the words of Saint Pope John XXIII, words that are still so relevant today: “The social progress, order, security and peace of each country are necessarily connected with the social progress, order, security and peace of all other countries.” Dear God, help us love one another as you have loved us, so our world can thrive and we can truly be children of light. May we wake up and smell the roses.