Gospel: Mk 12:28-34
A teacher of the Law had been listening
to this discussion and admired how Jesus
answered them. So he came up and asked
him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”
Jesus answered, “The first is: Hear, Israel! The
Lord, our God, is One Lord; and you shall love
the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with
all your soul, with all your mind and with all
your strength. And after this comes a second
commandment: You shall love your neighbor
as yourself. There is no commandment
greater than these two.”
The teacher of the Law said to him, “Well
spoken, Master; you are right when you say
that he is one, and there is no other besides
him. To love him with all our heart, with all
our understanding and with all our strength,
and to love our neighbor as ourselves is
more important than any burnt offering or
sacrifice.”
Jesus approved this answer and said, “You
are not far from the kingdom of God.” And
after that, no one dared to ask him any more
questions.
Reflection:
There is no question that the commandment to worship and honor God is
the foremost command of all. The uniqueness of Jesus’ answer to the question of the
teacher of the Law is that, He linked worship of God to love of God. It is not borne
out of fear. It is powered by the person’s love to his or her creator who loves him
or her in return. Love begets love. But this is not a private and exclusive love between
creator and creature. This love must radiate to the love of neighbor on the
part of the creature. But God loves not only us but our fellow human beings
as well. If we love God, we love those whom God loves. So neighbor is not spatial
neighbors but the whole of humanity that is loved by God.
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