Love: The Fulfilment of God's Commandments

 Reflection on Today's Readings, Wednesday of 31st Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1, November 3rd, 2021
Texts: Romans 13:8-10; Ps. 111:1-2,4-5,9; Luke 14:25-33
St. Paul, in today's first reading, admonishes us to owe ourselves nothing except to love one another. This means to love the other person should not be an option but an obligation, a commitment. Love is a debt when it is a must for me to do and the right of the other person to receive it from me. In the case that love is a debt is no longer a favour done to the other but that which rightly belongs to the person. Hence, St. Paul is simply asking us to consider everyone as a being to love. Everyone has right to be loved and it is my obligation to love him/her. He calls it "a debt of mutual love" to teach us that as we have obligation to love so also we have the right to be loved; everyone has obligation to love and the right to be loved. The obligation to love and the right to be loved are expression of what is woven into our nature by God: desire to love and to be loved. Hence, what St. Paul simply advocate today is this: do to other what you want done to you. Do you want to be loved? You, too, love others. Do you want to love others? You, too, be ready to be loved by others.
St. Paul reminds us that it is love that we need to be human, to be good neighbour to one another and to fulfil thecommandments. He says, "Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbour; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments." When we love, we are free to do anything. In love the right thing is always done. It is love that we need for peaceful coexistence. When we love, we fulfil the requirements of the commandments and live above them.
Jesus, in today's gospel reading, tells us what it takes to follow Him. Following Christ means preferring Him to any other thing. He says, "If any man comes to me without hating his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, yes and his own life too, he cannot be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." This also reminds us that to love requires sacrifice, it requires dedication, commitment and giving of self. Love is the giving of self. To love mutually is to mutually give the self. We cannot love if we are not ready to give ourselves.  Jesus goes further to teach us to know the cost of our actions before we emback on it. Do we often examine the cost of action?

Our Lord, Jesus Christ, thanks you for your faithful love; help us to love one another and live peaceably. Amen.

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke