“Jesus replied, ‘The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these'” (Mark 12: 29-31).
This is, of course, assuming I love myself.
It’s clear why I should love my neighbor. It’s even more clear why I should love God. But why should I love myself? I know me better than anyone else. I know my faults and I am the first to condemn myself for them. I know where I fall short better than where I excel. I am familiar with my transgressions and surprised by my good deeds.
We are made in the image and likeness of God. This is not a platitude, it’s an unbelievably startling reality. If I love others, I will their ultimate good. If I am not willing my own good, then I am not loving others and I am certainly not loving God. This is not a selfish outlook or a nod to the popular notion that life is all about doing whatever makes you happy. It has very little to do with happiness and a lot to do with holiness.
Jesus wants us to come back to him with not only the best parts of us; he wants our entire selves. He wants our damaged parts as well as our perfected parts.
I have decided to forgo lunch for Lent this year to the absolute best of my ability. This is something I’ve been slowly preparing for so that I’m able to sustain without material sustenance. We don’t fast because we think food is intrinsically evil. We unite our fasting with our prayers in love for others and for God. We fast to remind ourselves in those moments of hunger that God has ordered our lives and it takes work to put things back into that order. We fast to remind ourselves how good food is, and how much better our lives are when God is the first place we go in each moment of difficulty.
Return to the Lord in the love of the person he made you. Return to the Lord in the love of others. Return to the Lord in the love of the Lord.
Benjamin serves as the Music Minister at Our Lady Queen of Peace in Branchville, NJ. He teaches Children’s Theatre at the Paper Mill Playhouse and is a Catholic songwriter that has given talks on Confirmation, How to Keep the Faith in College, and The Courage to Choose Life. He can be reached at benjamintyates@gmail.com.
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