Though you pray the more,
I will not listen.
There is the possibility that external observance can be self-deceptive. We can just fool ourselves, going through the motions while our lives are not transformed.
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen (see First John 4:20).
If love of God is real it doesn't mean we skip the external observances. It means the love we share at such times, mass, confession, and the like, is meant to overflow to others. If it is real it cannot be contained. Real love is too lively, too dynamic, and too vital to keep to ourselves.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.
We can't separate any of this. Love of God, love of neighbor, keeping the commandments, and practicing our faith are all essential. If we think that we can do any of these without doing all of them we are wrong. The LORD calls us back.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.
A good place to start is love of neighbor. It is in some ways harder to fool ourselves with this. We know when we are doing the work. And though our motivation for doing it can always be improved, it is nevertheless a good place to begin to focus. Then again, we can't love our neighbor in the way we are supposed to love them without divine grace. So we look for opportunities to be patient, to be kind, to smile, and to help. But we do these things for God and through his strength. That is when love begins to have power in our lives.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Putting Jesus first is necessary. It is necessary precisely because he won't accept any love that is simply a mask for selfishness. Because he himself champions the orphan, the widow, and family more than anyone else, putting him first also means doing the most we can do for others. Trying to place Jesus as a mere bullet point on a program of social reform is not enough. We must let him write the program.
Are we able to receive this message? Are we able to put Jesus in first place in our hearts? He is speaking this invitation to us. It is an invitation to come to him, to receive him, to receive in turn the love he brings, and finally to let that love overflow.
To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
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