Thursday, June 06, 2013
9th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: Tb 6:10-11
Gospel: Mk 12:28–34
One of the teachers of the Law came up to Jesus 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 another one: 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. 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.” But after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the Assimilated Life Experience)
Years ago, a noontime television show angered the nation for featuring a six-year-old boy gyrating in tears to the rhythm of a sexually suggestive music. The host kept prodding the tearful kid to gyrate like a macho dancer, enjoying what he saw much as King Herod enjoyed the suggestive dance of the daughter of Herodias (Mark 6:14-29). Herod promised that girl up to half of his kingdom; the show host only paid the boy Ten Thousand Pesos.
“May pa-luha-luha pa yan ha,” the host commented, “Parang sa pelikulang burlesque queen na umiiyak dahil ayaw ang ginagawa, pero kailangang gawin para sa pamilya”. Then he started preaching to the crowd about love. He said, “Si Janjan nagsasayaw bilang isang macho dancer sa edad nyang iyan dahil mahal niya ang kanyang pamilya…” Then he roared into laughter.
If he only intended to preach about love, the boy could have been made to dance to the music of the Black-Eyed Peas’ “Where is the Love” and send a powerful message to the world that love in its sacrificial form has become so rare one could hardly feel it even from family members. For such a rare act of love, the show host could have shelled out a huge amount to reward the boy – a more noble cause than throwing his millions as in past shows to impress the viewing public.
The Philippines has enough laws to protect children from exploitation. Still in this country, children are crying out, “Where is the love!” If love at the level of justice can hardly be found, what can be said of the highest form of love that Jesus is seeking from human beings? – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected]. Website:www.frdan.org.
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya? I-type ang BANDERA REACT
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.