FAITH MATTERS
Social Justice is Vital, but Love is the Supreme Commandment
What makes love foundational is sacrifice. Jesus did this on the cross for us, and on November 11, we remember those who did this on the battlefield for our nation, writes Bishop Gerard Bergie.
By Gerard Bergie
Contributing Columnist
Saturday, November 9, 2024
On November 26, 2007, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared that beginning on February 20, 2008, a World Day of Social Justice would be celebrated annually.
The General Assembly acknowledged there will never be peace and security in the world if there is no justice. Human rights and fundamental freedoms need to be respected within and among nations.
The United Nations believes advancing social justice should be the central aim directing all nations and international policies.
What do we mean when we speak about social justice?
For the UN, social justice is defined as “the fair and compassionate distribution of the fruits of economic growth.”
Our own country of Canada offers the following definition: “Social justice is about ensuring that everyone — from the poorest, most marginalized in society to the wealthiest — is offered equal rights and opportunities.”
There is no question most Canadians value social justice and believe everyone has equal rights and opportunities.
It is the prophet Micah who states: “This is what God asks of you, only this — to act justly, to love tenderly, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
For this great prophet, social justice is important, but so too is humility and love. I would argue that of the three divine requests, the greatest is love. We are just and humble because we love.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus states that, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39)
Jesus takes two commandments from the Old Testament, love of God (Deuteronomy 6:15) and love of neighbour (Leviticus 19:18), and makes them the two greatest commandments. It is interesting to note both are predicated on love.
We are called to love God with our whole being, heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbour like ourselves. Jesus reminds us the two are inseparable.
In many ways, it is much easier to love God rather than to love our neighbour. God is good, beautiful, generous and kind. We are not always lovable because we are weak and sinful and wounded in so many ways. It can be very difficult to love those who seem unlovable.
In the Christian tradition, we have individuals who were able to do this in so many incredible ways.
On November 1, several Christian churches celebrated All Saints’ Day. So many saints humbly focused on caring for the poor rather than themselves. They loved the poor, marginalized and forgotten, even when it was difficult. Their holiness was found in love of God and neighbour. They are our spiritual “super heroes” because they humbly and justly served with love.
What makes love foundational is sacrifice. Jesus did this on the cross for us — and on November 11, we will remember those who did this on the battlefield for our nation. These are supreme acts of love and sacrifice.
The General Assembly of the United Nations believes there will never be peace and security in the world if there is no justice. Christians also believe that love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (I Corinthians 13:1)
Social justice is important — however, let us never forget that the first commandment is to love. From this, everything else proceeds.