Love: Summit and Summary of all Commandments.

October 31, Sunday

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

 

 

There is no greater love than that which disposes someone to give up one’s life for others. Jesus, the person who tells us this, proved by his own life and death that he meant what he said. He insists that love of God and love of people are one and inseparable. It is perhaps easy to love an unseen God but it is often very difficult for us to love people whose weakness we see, people who are cranky and rough and unreliable. But if we cannot love these people, we really do not love God. Jesus, who is God’s love alive, can give us his own endless, reliable love.

 

First Reading: Deuteronomy 6::2-6

This is the commandment, the rules and regulations, that God, your God, commanded me to teach you to live out in the land you’re about to cross into to possess. This is so that you’ll live in deep reverence before God lifelong, observing all his rules and regulations that I’m commanding you, you and your children and your grandchildren, living good long lives.

Listen obediently, Israel. Do what you’re told so that you’ll have a good life, a life of abundance and bounty, just as God promised, in a land abounding in milk and honey.

Attention, Israel!

God, our God! God the one and only!

Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got!

Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates.

 

Second Reading: Hebrews 7:23-28

Earlier there were a lot of priests, for they died and had to be replaced. But Jesus’ priesthood is permanent. He’s there from now to eternity to save everyone who comes to God through him, always on the job to speak up for them.

So now we have a high priest who perfectly fits our needs: completely holy, uncompromised by sin, with authority extending as high as God’s presence in heaven itself. Unlike the other high priests, he doesn’t have to offer sacrifices for his own sins every day before he can get around to us and our sins. He’s done it, once and for all: offered up himself as the sacrifice. The law appoints as high priests men who are never able to get the job done right. But this intervening command of God, which came later, appoints the Son, who is absolutely, eternally perfect.

 

Gospel: Mk 12:28b-34

One of the religion scholars came up. Hearing the lively exchanges of question and answer and seeing how sharp Jesus was in his answers, he put in his question: “Which is most important of all the commandments?”

Jesus said, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy.’ And here is the second: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment that ranks with these.”

The religion scholar said, “A wonderful answer, Teacher! So lucid and accurate—that God is one and there is no other. And loving him with all passion and intelligence and energy, and loving others as well as you love yourself. Why, that’s better than all offerings and sacrifices put together!”

When Jesus realized how insightful he was, he said, “You’re almost there, right on the border of God’s kingdom.”

After that, no one else dared ask a question.

 

Prayer

Lord our God, loving Father,

all true love comes from you and leads to you.

You have committed yourself to us

in a covenant of lasting love

in the person of Jesus Christ.

Help us to respond to your love

with the whole of our being

and to live your commandments

not as laws forced on us from outside

but as opportunities to love you

for yourself and in people, our brothers and sisters.

We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Listen to him!

Today’s text presents Jesus in the temple where, he was asked by a scribe a theological question: “What is the most important commandment?” The scribes had discovered 613 commandments of the Law and the question was: Of these 613, which one is the most important?

Many teachers maintained that the most important of the commandments was the observance of the Sabbath, because God himself observed this, as he rested on the seventh day after six days of creation. But Jesus had disagreements on that. The gospel readings of last week was all about Jesus’ confrontation with the Pharisees regarding the Law of Sabbath. Others believed that “not to have other gods than the only God of Israel” was the most important.

Contrary to what the scribe expected, Jesus cites the creed of Israel which is given in the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 6: “Hear, O Israel!” Jesus gives a new way of understanding our relationship with God, where the first command of the Lord is “Hear, O Israel” – ie., “Listen O chosen people of God”. We are the chosen people of God and we must listen to the Word of God and allow it to transforms us. Hear O Israel, Adonai is our one God … if you listen to him, you will keep his word.”

“Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your life, with all your strength and with all your mind.” Our entire life project has no other objective than to fulfil the mission entrusted to us on the earth – to do the projects of God. And we do not do this because of any compulsion, rather out of love of God who has designed our life.

The Pharisee had asked for the most important commandment, but Jesus gives us two commandments: “To Listen” and “to love”. Then he teaches us that love of God is not possible without love of neighbour.

According to Luke’s version of this passage, there is only one commandment: ‘Love God and love your neighbour as yourself’. In the Gospel of John, in chapter 15, Jesus says: “This is my only commandment: “love one another.” In the letter to the Romans, Paul says: ‘All the commandments … do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, they are summarized in these words: you will love your neighbour as yourself.’

How are we to live by this commandment of Jesus? First, Listen to him! To listen to the voice of the Lord, we must resolve to travel with him on the road from Galilee to Jerusalem.

Reading Mark’s Gospel is equivalent to making this journey. It may be that having reached the last page, one does not yet dare to offer one’s life with Jesus. There is no need to be discouraged because of this; one must resume the journey with him, starting again from Galilee.

 

Video available on Youtube: Listen to him!