Loving God Above All Else

Speaker: Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines

October 30, 2023

in Spritual Growth

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October 29, 2023
Readings: Exodus 22:21-27
1 Thessalonians 21:1-8
Matthew 22: 34-46
23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time 2023 Homily

The Words that God say bring forth life. We may say or utter His words, but do we really live it out in our lives? The Pharisees and Sadducees have been questioning Christ but were always being confronted by His answers. So they brought in a lawyer to ask Him a question: “Teacher, what is the greatest commandment?” In our lives today, we have very little respect for the law. Do we even follow the rules? We are a rebellious people when we do not follow the laws. Now comes this lawyer in rebellion trying to test Him, and to put pressure on Him for His answer. Christ says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your might.”

If we put our trust in God and say we love Him, then we should be following Him. If He is mighty, then why are turning to other gods for the answers? We proclaim the holiness and greatness of our God because we should be dependent upon Him. Our heart-soul-mind should be focused on Him. We love Him with our heart because out of the heart we make our decisions. It is the core, the center. We love with our soul because when God breathed His life into us, we became a living soul. The soul will live forever. That life will never die. We should value the soul because it is powerful. We love with our mind or might because it is extremely powerful. We should see ourselves in the image that God has given us which is awesome. In reality, all things are possible even if we see them as impossible. Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” We have allowed the enemy to deceive us, to take away the faith and confidence we have in God. We should always have hope. This is the life that God desires from us. A love that puts Him first in our lives. We should love the commandments of God, and not see them as a burden or a hindrance. He directs our thoughts and should dominate in our hearts. He desires to talk with us. Leviticus 19:18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.” Romans 13:8 “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.” Galatians 5:14 For the entire Law is fulfilled in this one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

In the midst of our failures, He still loves us and forgives us. Many times, it is us who bring upon ourselves, consequences when we do not follow Him. It is of our own doing and never God’s fault. God’s hope in us will destroy all the despair and depression in our lives. We need to love God with all our might and should not put other things above Him. And may we never forget that God is a covenant-keeping God.