Today's Gospel in Art - You must love the Lord and you must love your neighbour

The Giant's Causeway, 50 million year old coastline Antrim, Northern Ireland, © Christian Art

Gospel of 21st August 2020 - Matthew 22:34-40

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees they got together and, to disconcert him, one of them put a question, 'Master, which is the greatest commandment of the Law?' Jesus said, 'You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second resembles it: You must love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang the whole Law, and the Prophets also.'

Reflection on the Photograph

I recently spent a few days in Ireland (visiting two seminarian brothers of mine who study with me at the Beda College in Rome). One of the days I went to see the Giant's Causeway. Truly magnificent scenery of the basalt cliffs along the sea coast of the Antrim plateau in Northern Ireland. It is made up of some 40,000 massive black basalt hexagonal columns sticking out of the sea. Dante Alighieri already quoted that 'Nature is the Art of God'. Upon seeing such scenery, nature has the power indeed to draw us closer to God, the Divine artist. They are glimpses of God's beauty shown to us through nature.

Seeing the sea hitting the rocks, and the tiny water sprays that ensue, it made me think of God's love. Everyone is invited to come close to the sea of God's love and be drenched by its spray. The closer we get to God, the more we get sprayed and drenched by His love… In our Gospel reading today we hear Jesus say with supreme clarity that the greatest commandment is love. Nothing is more important than to be steeped in God's love and for us to love God back. We also have to love others as ourselves. Our lives are hinged on those two loves: the love for God and the love for our neighbour. The photo I am sharing is just a picture I took when visiting the Giant's Causeway. I hope you like it.

God gave us eyes to see the beauty in the nature He shared with us; and He gave us hearts to see the beauty in each other…

LINKS

Today's story - https://christian.art/en/daily-gospel-reading/520

Christian Art - www.christian.art