Friday, March 20, 2020
3rd Week of Lent
1st Reading: Hos 14:2–10
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)
Jesus declared a Teacher of the Law closer to the kingdom because of his substantial understanding of the Law and the Prophets. This substantial understanding disposed him to receive deeper teachings about love of God and love of neighbor.
The Teacher of the Law only asked Jesus what was the number one commandment. Jesus, however, gave him the number one and the number two. He cited Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21(love of God) as the number one, and Leviticus 19:18 (love of neighbor) as the number two.
This juxtaposition of love of God and love of neighbor was Jesus’ original creation. While Jesus may not have intended to equate love of God with love of neighbor, he must have intended to define one with the other.
Without loving the neighbor, one’s manner of loving God is not the way God wants to be loved. Likewise, without loving God, one’s love for the neighbor is not the way a neighbor should be loved as child of God. Thus, while a philanthropist is not far from the kingdom, he enters into it only when he affords the neighbor a taste of love reserved for the gods.
Similarly while one who loves God is not far from the kingdom, he won’t gain access to it until he substantiates love of God with love of neighbor. Hence, the Bible says, “Not all those who say, “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of God” (Matthew 7:21).
The bottom line is active faith. This is the only key that opens the gates of heaven. A person who masters the first two commandments as the Teacher of the Law did will hover above the kingdom without touch-down rights. – (Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., JD, DM, MAPM.