34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
St. Bernard of Clairvaux was a major figure in the rebirth of Benedictine monasticism through his founding of Clairvaux Abbey and the development of the Cistercian Order (also known, in his honor, as the Bernardines). He helped 163 monasteries throughout Europe and was renowned for his eloquence. He is famous for his debating skills, notably against Peter Abelard. A doctor of the Church, he was a great theologian, although sadly tainted by his support for the Crusades. Among other things he is the patron saint of beekeepers and candlemakers.
In honor of Bernard’s formidable reputation for oratory, the gospel for his feast shows Jesus debating a specialist of the Law and representative of the Pharisees, in one of that group’s all too numerous hostile challenges. He tries to trap Jesus on an issue with regard to the Torah but Jesus speaks the truth which overcomes all the lawyer’s traps. Jesus responds by quoting Deuteronomy, notably a text that pious Jews recited each morning and evening. This was because they recognized that love of God and love of neighbor were not and are not an emotion, a feeling of affection for someone, but a way of life. It means thinking of others’ needs and laboring for them. We cannot order ourselves to feel a particular way about someone but we can order our behavior. In verse 37, Jesus speaks of loving God with one’s heart, soul and mind which means that we should love him with every part of our being.
But this love does not exist in a vacuum for we cannot separate love of God from our every day life. Jesus was asked for one commandment but he gives two because the they cannot be separated. True love of God is shown in the way we treat our neighbors – and Jesus has been very clear that our “neighbors” includes even those we hate. This is the only real sign of our love of God. Martin Luther argued that God needs nothing but our neighbor needs a great deal and thus true service to God always involves service to our fellow humans. Religion and ethics, then, should be viewed as one and the same thing. Our religious observances should come from within us, from our intimate relationship with God and not because we seek approval from others. If we truly love God then it will show in how we treat others.
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