The Best Thing to do for Your Country
The Two Commandments for Peace
Today’s Gospel reading is of course where Jesus responds to the teaching of the scribe. He explains the two great commandments—Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love you neighbor as yourself. They are from Deuteronomy and Leviticus respectively.
Jesus teaches that living those two commandments is the way to the kingdom of God.
So, now we want to look at the original sources to understand what they mean. In Deuteronomy, The Lord speaks through Moses and teaches that this is the command the Hebrews must follow to ensure they live peacefully in the Land of Milk and Honey. In Leviticus, the commandment to love neighbor sums up a series of laws that teach how the Hebrews are to live under the reign of the new God.
The bottom line is if you want to live in a peaceful world these are the two commandments to live. Everything else comes from these two. If you ignore these two then do not be surprised in your community starts to turn ugly because these two commandments are the source of peace in a community.
Love God, act justly
They call us to do two things: Love God and act justly. If we do not do these two things we cannot build a peaceful society. No matter how much technology you have, no matter your political environment, no matter your nation’s economy if these two commandments are not followed there are no ways your country can sustain itself. In fact, when both Israel and Judah turned away from those commandments and started following another way of living their nations became weak and fell.
These are the commandments that we must live as people of faith. If we do not then no matter what we do, whom we vote for, what we seek, what changes we make in our society, It will all fail. We need to live these two because all just laws come from these two. Those laws that respect others and understand who we are as human beings in this world.
We are almost at the end of the election season and one thing we may be able to agree upon is no political party can boast of honoring fully those two commandments. They can promise these things. In some ways, they cannot because obviously a secular society cannot embrace one God. However, we can. When we make it our role to love God and neighbor and act on it, that will be our legacy. Anytime we put those two comandments aside for a political or economic purpose we may find these things work for a time but the success of that society is limited. It will fail.
Individual choice
However, notice where it begins, at the individual level. Put it this way, if you want live in a free country make sure you worship the God of freedom and then do everything to make sure your neighbor is free. Then you will be free. It can only work that way.
Today we celebrate our anniversary and one hundred twenty-five years of teaching rooted in those two commandments. This is something we have stood for in the past and must resolve to stand for in the future.
There is a political battle happening outside for the future of our country and we know this battle has been the most intense maybe since 1932 or even 1860. However, the battle is being fought because too many on both sides of the electorate forgot those two rules. Even people within the Catholic circles.
You heard the story of the comedian who told described people from Puerto Rico as garbage in an alleged attempt at humor. Of course, you saw both sides playing with this and trying to spin his words in ways that benefit their respective side by distancing themselves from it. A former auxiliary bishop of Boston and now the currrent Archbishop of San Juan demanded apologies but in the midst of this was a small story the may have been missed by the mainstream press. A Catholic School in Youngstown, Ohio disavowed any connection to such a statement. You see the comedian graduated from that Catholic school.
You see each and everyone one of us have a role in the future of our country and we live that role by simply remembering those two commandments—love God and neighbor.
Live the commandments for the future of our country
If you want to affect the future of our country—live those two commandments. If you have decided you will follow them when you have your Ph.D. in whatever, sorry you have already failed in your ability to do this.
If you decided that there is no need to follow them because we have no need for God today, then no you have already failed in your ability to bring peace to your country.
However, if you have chosen to live those commandments in your homes, you work, your families and teach them to your children and your children’s children, then you are already doing your part to assist this country after the election and you are not far from the Kingdom of God.
Fr. Robert J Carr is pastor of St. Anthony Parish in Allston, MA
The parish podcast is at https://catholicaudiomedia.com