First Among All

“And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him,

‘You are not far from the Kingdom of God.’”

Mark 12:34a

If I were to ask you what is the most important thing in your life, what would you say? Who or what would take that place in your heart? When one of the scribes asked Jesus which among the commandments was first, Jesus answered with the Shema in Deuteronomy (6:4-7) saying that to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And Jesus added that the second is likened to it, loving your neighbor as yourself. For Jesus, loving God was first among everything else. God and His will was Jesus’ priority. And, when one loves God above all else, love of neighbor necessarily follows.

What are your priorities? Who or what is first in your life? For me, I will say God, family, and friends, in that order. Perhaps many of you will say “That’s how my list goes, too!” But today I want to challenge both you and me to really think about that list. What does it mean when I say God is number one? How does that look like in my daily life? Does it reflect it? If not, then I ought to reevaluate how important God is in my life, and how I can deepen my relationship with Him so that my thoughts, actions, and desires will truly reflect, that for me, love of God comes first, followed by love of family and friends.

That saints who we celebrate today, St. Charles Lwanga and companions did just that. By refusing to commit immoral acts and defending their faith, they were martyred. Their words and actions, and their entire lives truly showed that God was first in their lives. May we today evaluate our own lives, asking for the grace to grow deeper in God’s love, so that Jesus might say to us what He said to that wise and humble scribe, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”