Through the ears to the heart. Two commandments, four aspects of love
On Mount Sinai, God gave Moses tablets with the Ten Commandments. Over the centuries, as many as 613 commandments (so-called mitzvot) appeared in the Jewish tradition. Some were known at the time of Jesus. Rabbis did their best to explain and systematise these precepts, which was not easy. An average person, uneducated in the Law, could rightly feel lost in the face of such a multitude of regulations. Jesus comes to the aid of the listeners of that time, as well as to us today, by making it clear what, and in fact Who, is most important and what it entails.
“Hear!” (Mk 12:29)
In the verses of the Gospel for this Sunday we encounter a very important fragment of the Gospel according to Matthew, where Jesus replies to a scholar of the law. A similar excerpt of the gospel according to Mark precedes the commandment of love of God and the neighbour with one more commandment: “Hear, o Israel!” (Shema Israel). We read there: “Hear, oIsrael! The Lord our God is Lord alone!” (Mk 12:29). This is an everyday, important prayer of the Jews. St. Paul goes as far as to claim that “faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17). When we really love someone, we not only talk to them, but also listen attentively.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind” (Mt 22:37)
Emphasising the priority of the love of God in a person’s life, Jesus points to several components of how this love is to be manifested in practice.
Today, the heart is commonly associated with emotions, whereas in the Bible it is the origin of all decisions and actions. In another place of the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus quotes from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah, the excerpt where God complains about the people of Israel: “this people draws near with words only and honours me with their lips alone, though their hearts are far from me” (Is 29:13). This shows the importance of the heart for a love of God which is genuine.
The soul (psyche) is the spiritual in us. In Jesus’ time, in the culture of Greeks and Romans the soul consisted of many parts, responsible for biological, emotional, and intellectual functions. Not only the heart, but all other areas of human life must therefore be oriented towards the love of God.
The mind stands for our way of reasoning, which should be energised by love for God. The Hebrew original of the “Shema” prayer has no such element. Jesus’ mentioning the mind shows its significance in our love for God.
St. Mark indicates in Jesus’ words a power and a force; in the Hebrew original meodeka or loving with all one has. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mk 12:30).
“You shall love your neighbour” (Mt 22:39)
The love of God cannot be incomplete. Only if our love for God is complete does love for others and ourselves assume its proper meaning. The neighbour is any person who is nearby. Sometimes we find it easier to love those who are farther away.
“As yourself” (Mt 22:39)
Love of God and our neighbour does not exclude a correctly understood love of oneself. On the contrary, loving God and one's neighbour in the right way enables one to love oneself in the same way. If we do not take proper care of ourselves, of our own health, heart, mind, rest, nutrition, or sleep, then we fail to observe the commandment of loving ourselves.
In summary, the two commandments of love actually consist of four elements: listening, loving God, loving our neighbours, and loving ourselves. Listening refers to God, but our ears must also be open to the other person. The main theme of the letter of the participants of the October Synod in Rome fits in very well with this: “In order to make progress in discernment, the Church must listen to everyone, starting with the poorest. We must listen to those who have no voice in society or who feel excluded, even from the Church”, reads the letter. The need to listen is pointed out by Pope Francis.
It is worth asking ourselves the following question: am I listening and how am I listening? And consequently: Does listening to God and to my neighbours lead me to true love?
About the Author:
Fr. Paweł Rytel-Andrianik – doctor of Oriental Sciences at Oxford University and a doctor of Biblical Sciences and Archaeology of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem, professor of Holy Scripture at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. Former Spokesperson of the Polish Bishops’ Conference (2015-2020) and Director of the Foreign Communication Office of the Conference (2020-2023). As of October 2022, Deputy Director of the Abraham J. Heschel Centre for Catholic-Jewish Relations at the Catholic University of Lublin. Now head of the Polish Section of Vatican Radio - Vatican News.