On Love - Homily on the 15th Sunday after Pentecost

Metropolitan Korniliy (Titov)

Dear brothers and sisters!

The Apostle John the Theologian writes: “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?” (1 John 4:20).

These words are based on today's Gospel, which narrates that the Pharisees and Sadducees gathered in the temple where Jesus was and decided to pose to Him what they considered the most difficult question—about which commandment should be considered the greatest in the Law. They wanted to trap Jesus because this tricky question allowed for extensive debate and disputes, and even attempting to answer it, in their opinion, was quite audacious. How can a person judge what is primary and what is secondary in God's Law, what must be fulfilled, and what can be omitted? Moreover, it's important to consider that the Jewish scribes themselves differentiated between greater and lesser commandments in the Law and constantly argued about them. Some considered the greatest commandment to be about sacrifices, others about the Sabbath, and others about circumcision; generally, the Jews placed ceremonial laws first. To their question, the Lord answered with the words of Deuteronomy (6:5): “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength,” indicating that this is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

The Lord not only named the truly main commandment but also provided the key to every commandment of the Law, pointing out that the fulfillment of all commandments should be done with love—that love should be the heart of every action. For example, the Prophet David, contrary to the Law, fed hungry people with the showbread, which was intended only for priests. Venerable Theodosius of the Caves left for the monastery without his parents' blessing, against his mother's prohibition. The Law commands a husband not to leave his wife, but Venerable Alexius, the Man of God, immediately after his wedding secretly left his home and young wife. A bishop is instructed not to abandon his flock, but Saint Paulinus of Nola left all the people entrusted to him by God for a long time and sold himself into slavery to free just one person. The Apostle commands: “Give no offense either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the Church of God” (1 Corinthians 10:32), yet from the lives of the Fools for Christ, we know that they walked naked through the streets, prompting people to ridicule, condemn, and revile them. Some venerable ones, while secretly fasting, would eat meat in public to deprive themselves of human glory. Who is their judge except the Lord, who alone sees hearts and thoughts, and whom these saints loved with all their soul and all their mind? Love for God and people justified their violations of the Law.

“You were called to freedom, brothers,” writes the Apostle (Galatians 5:13). Only in freedom is love possible. When God manifested His love in the creation of man, He gave man the opportunity to freely taste or reject the forbidden fruit in paradise. Therefore, it's essential to feel and value this freedom, not to subject ourselves voluntarily to the slavery of sin and the devil. Regarding the freedom given to us by God, the Apostle says: “Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh.” And the works of the flesh are evident: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like” (Galatians 5:19–21). Within us, the voice of the flesh and the Spirit of God constantly oppose each other: “the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.” The voice of the Spirit preserves in us the stamp of God's image and likeness, manifesting through the voice of conscience and the striving for truth, goodness, and spiritual beauty. The fruits of the Spirit manifested in us are “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22–23). On people who bear these fruits, the Apostle asserts, “there is no law,” meaning they are free from the bounds of the Law, and only God can be the Judge and Arbiter of their actions.

The Lord inspires us: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” In these words, brothers and sisters, there is a call to love God not with just one faculty of our soul but with our whole being. All the forces, properties, and abilities that God has given us must be directed to serving Him, submitted to God, enlightened, and enlivened with love for Him. The Lord is our Creator; He has given us the great blessing of life. He has endowed us with many abilities through which we feel and know the wondrous beauty of the universe, the greatness of God's creation—all living things. With the blood of His Son, at the cost of the sufferings of the Cross, He redeemed our sins and opened to us the Kingdom of Heaven. He is righteous and rewards each according to his deeds; He knows all the circumstances of our lives, and for those who, with childlike humility, bow before Him, He, as an almighty Father, will protect and comfort. We, Christians, are His children, beloved and dear to Him, to whom He always wishes good and the salvation of the soul. As a good Father, He commands us always to live in peace and harmony, to love one another, and to help each other in times of need.

What does it mean to love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength? To love God with your heart does not mean to love Him only with feelings and emotions. To love the Lord with all your strength means to give Him your heart in service, to make the fulfillment of His will the essence and purpose of life. Christ says: “He who loves Me keeps and fulfills My commandments.” He does not say that the one who loves Him should move from emotion to emotion with tender feelings. He speaks of a stricter and more sober love. He became Man, lived on earth, and died so that we might understand this with all the depth of our soul, with all our life and creative force. As Christ said: “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15), and for this, not only emotions and feelings are needed but all the exertion of our mind, thought, and creative life in love for God.

The heart and soul of a person have the property of obeying and serving the one whom they love. Consequently, if we love God with all our heart, it will be filled with grace, goodness, and love for humanity. If a person loves God with all his soul, then our soul will shine, perceive clearly, and behold God. If we love God with all the strength of our mind, then it will be enlightened, become good and active, all its cognitive powers and abilities will be revealed, and it will be filled with God's wisdom, truth, and understanding. How many among us have a deep, creative love for God? Many of us are cold in soul toward Him or lukewarm. Each of us undoubtedly wishes to have this love, which gives a feeling of sweetness and peace, holiness and salvation. How can we arouse in ourselves this precious virtue—the love of God?

The first means contributing to the growth of love for God is directing our mind to Him. We must, as often as possible, make our mind contemplate God, not earthly and vain things and deeds. When the mind is convinced of the worthiness and perfections of God, our heart cannot remain indifferent and insensible. The mind is the guide of the heart. Where the mind sees good and attractiveness, there the heart turns with its love: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). Therefore, frequent and reverent contemplation of God can greatly contribute to arousing love for Him in us.

No less than contemplation, prayer can arouse love for God in us. Prayer attracts the grace of the Holy Spirit, and grace, in turn, inflames love for God within us. “Where the Spirit of God is, there is love.” “The fruit of the Spirit is love,” says the Apostle Paul (Galatians 5:22). Moreover, prayer as a conversation with God brings us closer to Him and allows us to feel the sweetness of His essence. It's no coincidence that the saints felt the inflaming of divine love within themselves during prayer.

Of course, love for one's neighbor greatly contributes to the awakening of love for God. Just as wind stokes fire, so love for one's neighbor ignites the flame of love for God. We must learn to love God through love for our neighbors. We need to become a source of mercy, love, and compassion among people—that which the Lord brings to humanity. Therefore, the two commandments are so closely and inseparably connected: love for God and love for neighbor.

The Lord calls us: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” What does “as yourself” mean? In each of us, there is love for ourselves; this feeling often develops into excessive self-love, placing the desire for pleasure and personal well-being above all else. How often, when people say, “I love nature, I love animals, I love to travel,” the word “I” is at the center of everything. By saying “I love,” a person first loves themselves, seeking only joy and pleasure for themselves in the object of love. Such love is incapable of sacrifice and sometimes even simple concessions. How often we love in ourselves our selfish, petty, greedy, insatiable, cowardly, and insignificant “I.” Through the terrible development of self-love and pride, one of the angels fell, becoming a spirit of malice.

Let us remember the great and saving commandments of God: “Love the Lord your God” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” In this lies the beginning and foundation, the establishment and creation of a true, bright, reasonable, genuinely Christian life. Our spiritual state is measured by our love for God and neighbor. To the extent that we love God and neighbor, we are worthy to be called Christians. To confirm this, let's recall the words of the Apostle Paul: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned but have not love, it profits me nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:1–3).

We need to learn to love our neighbor as ourselves, to see in them not their sinfulness and insignificance but the possible greatness and meekness of their soul in God, to learn to serve the good cause of the spiritual growth of our neighbors. Love for neighbor stokes the flame of love for God. And if we do not feel love for our neighbor within us, we must cultivate and develop it, sometimes forcing ourselves to render services to our neighbors in the name of God—to show leniency, forgive their weaknesses and the offenses they have caused us, to show, as far as possible, flexibility and goodwill, courtesy and kindness, especially toward those we do not favor. Even if at first we manifest these qualities by forcing ourselves, little by little, love for neighbor may awaken and develop in us, and from this love will be born love for God. This happens because God Himself settles and lives in a loving heart.

“God is love,” says Saint John the Theologian, “and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16).

Partaking of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ greatly contributes to the arousal of love for God and neighbor. In Communion, God enters into the closest union with man, allows him to feel the sweetness and grace of Divinity, and instills love in him.

Also, the awakening of love for neighbor in us is facilitated by reading the lives of those who were distinguished by their love for others. Reading and listening to the lives of the saints, we comprehend the value of love, see the sweetness of the blessings arising from philanthropy, and a desire is born in us to imitate those who excelled in love for their neighbors. Therefore, it's beneficial to associate and befriend merciful and compassionate people. Their close living example will fill our soul with love for humanity.

The most effective means to arouse love for neighbor within ourselves is prayer, for it is said: “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7). The one who asks God for love for neighbor will certainly receive what he asks for, as he is requesting what aligns with His holy will. If we, with humility and patience, persistently ask, then inevitably, sooner or later, the Gospel promise will be fulfilled: “Seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

Brothers and sisters! Let us love above all God and then our neighbor as ourselves. Let us maintain the conviction that without brotherly love, goodwill, and readiness to help our neighbor in need, there can be no peace of soul and earthly harmony, much less future heavenly bliss. Let us remember the words of Saint John Chrysostom about love for neighbors: “What is it to Me,” says the Lord through the prophet's mouth, “your rich sacrifices if you sacrifice nothing to your neighbor? What is your great praise to Me when you dishonor your neighbor? What is your veneration of My image on wood when you despise My image in man? What is it to Me that you come to My temple when you pass by your neighbors without attention? The one who does not love his neighbor does not please God; an enemy of people will never be a friend of God. He who does not love humanity does not love Christ.” Let us remember that it is precisely in love for God and neighbor that the Kingdom of God is found—the Kingdom of love, where the love and mercy of the Creator and Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, await us!

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