Today, God invites us to discover the unsuspected richness of love: a total love, offered with every fiber of our being, and a love without boundaries, cast like a net of mercy over every person in distress.
“This law… is very near to you”
“For this commandment that I enjoin on you today is not too hard for you, nor is it beyond your reach. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us, that we may hear it and observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us and get it for us, that we may hear it and observe it?’ No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may do it.”
(Deuteronomy 30:11-14)
In the heart of the desert, Moses reminds the people that the Law—the summit of the covenant—is not an external burden but the very breath of the believer. It takes root in an awakened heart, like the Child of Bethlehem lying in the manger, who lets us taste filial simplicity: living God’s love is not beyond our strength but unfolds in our flesh and in our breath.
The Demand of Total Love
God does not stint on the word “love”: “Return to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deut 30:10) Then, in the Gospel, Jesus repeats to a scholar of the law:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”
(Luke 10:27)
These four dimensions—heart, soul, strength, mind—sketch the attitude of the disciple-child: tender, deep, robust, enlightened. They call to mind the “wunderbare Einfachheit und Schlichtheit” of the Little Child of Bethlehem: a simplicity that casts off vanity, a longing for truth that sheds every deception, a humility that stands revealed without fear.
Loving God and Loving Our Neighbor
Love of God and love of neighbor are not opposed; they illumine each other. The very existence of these two commandments “is very near to you”—as a path carved in stone, so God’s Word is engraved in the disciple’s heart.
When the scholar of the law asks, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29), Jesus responds with the parable of the Samaritan: a man gravely wounded receives help, shelter, and care not from those one would have expected, but from a stranger moved with compassion, who approaches without calculation. (cf. Luke 10:30-35)
Our neighbor is any human being in distress, for our divine filiation makes us recognize in each one a brother or sister to be rescued. Thus the love of God—by which we are the Father’s beloved children—pours out as a fountain of mercy for all.
The Son, Image of Divine Love
As Saint Paul reminds the Colossians:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created. He is the head of the body, the Church.”
(Colossians 1:15-18)
In him, the Father’s almighty power becomes proximity: the “strength” of divine love is not coercive but creative and liberating. In the spirituality of the Child of Bethlehem, we learn that the greatest love hides beneath the simplest appearances, and that in every humble service, we stand in Christ’s place—Restorer of life and hope.
Prayer of the Day
Lord Jesus,
You who made the manger an altar of simplicity,
teach us the tender radicalness of Your love:
help us love with all our heart,
serve without calculation, and welcome every brother.
May Your Spirit—the breath of the Child of Bethlehem—
draw us into that love which heals and connects.
Amen.
Biblical References
- Deuteronomy 30:10–14
- Colossians 1:15–20
- Luke 10:25–37
Gospel according to Saint Luke
In those days,
a doctor of the law stood up to put Jesus to the test, saying,
“Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
He answered, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
And he said to him, “You have answered right; do this, and you will live.”
But desiring to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
Likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion.
He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; then he set him on his own beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
Which of these three, do you think, proved neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”
He said, “The one who showed mercy on him.”
And Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
For the full readings of the day, consult Vatican News.
For Reflection
- How can I practice listening “with the ears of the heart” each day to love God with all my being?
- Who is the “Samaritan” I pass by without seeing? How can I reach out to them?
- In what ways does my service reflect the wondrous simplicity of the Christ-Child?
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