The Greatest Commandment Carlo Maria Martini, S.J.

Cardinal Archbishop of Milan We ask the Holy Spirit to help us to understand Jesus' words on Love. Jesus summarized His thoughts in response to the lawyer's question on the greatest commandment. The episode is told in Matthew 22:34-39; in Mark 12:28-34; and in Luke 10:25-28. We all know Jesus' answer: the greatest commandment is to love God and love your neighbor. With these words, Jesus recalls serveral themes from the Old Testament. But while He recalls the Old Law, Jesus introduces two new ideas. The first is the union of the two commandments. For Jesus, love is powerful and distinct fact. It is rooted in an unreserved dedication to God: the whole person, with his gifts and abilities must entrust himself to the will of God and God's project of love for man. The visible and dynamic manifestation of this duty is the dedication that considers evey man as a brother, neighbor or another self. To separate or simplify the different aspects of that unifying event which is Love means to use some of our restricted perspectives against the vast horizon opened up by Jesus' glance. The second novelty is the surprisingly revolutionary notion of the "neighbor." Only the evangelist, Luke, puts a second question on the lawyer's lips: "But who is my neighbor?" Jesus replies with the parable of the Good Samaritan. The neighbor The neighbor doesn't already exist. One becomes a neighbor. A neighbor does not already have a relationship of blood, race, business or psychological affinity with us. I become a neighbor when, before another, even an stranger or enemy, I decide to take some step that brings us closer. It is important to note the relationship between the two new ideas which Jesus introduced. For man, love is born from a dedication to God and trust in His will. But God is the father of all. So, in loving God, each person approaches others and creates new paths towards togetherness, while knocking down barriers of race, social class, different ideology or different religious beliefs.