Loving God in the neighbor

Friday, March 13, 2015
3rd Week of Lent
1st Reading: Hos 14:1-9
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)

Because the Scribe was honest and desirous to learn, Jesus took his question seriously and even approved him saying, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” That was when he displayed sufficient understanding of the Law which placed him closer to the kingdom and prepared him to receive it. Jesus thus found him ready for his new teaching about the connection between love of God and love of neighbor.

“Which commandment is the first of all?” the Scribe asked. Jesus responded with one of the three texts recited two times a day by every pious Jew. “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” (Deut. 6:4-9;11:13-21). The enumeration of four vital aspects of a human person (heart, soul, mind and strength) was a poetic way of saying one should love God with all available resources. The Scribe only asked for the first but Jesus answered by giving both the first (love of God, a quote from Deuteronomy supra) and the second (love of neighbor, a quote from Leviticus 19:18). Although scholars say this was not an attempt to equate both, their juxtaposition was Jesus’ original creation.

We too may not be very far from the kingdom especially if like the Scribe we are sincere in knowing more about our faith. But being near to the kingdom is just as good as being far from it if we fail to get inside. To gain entry, our knowledge must lead to action, and the action must be about loving God in the neighbor. – Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM. Email: [email protected]. Website: www.frdan.org.
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