A Great Commandment

The Roman Catholic Lectionary today presents texts which focus on the nature of the Great Commandment. The reading from the Book of Deuteronomy and the episode related in the Gospel of Mark present the wording of the commandment which Moses prescribed to the people as the way to continue to know the favour of God who had raised them up from slavery in Egypt. Jesus answers the question of the scribe and through dialogue confirms that He is of the same understanding as the Jewish tradition about the Law of Moses. He announces that the scribe who acknowledges this Law is close to the Kingdom of God. Father Larry Gillick SJ notes that Jesus does not give us the kind of detailed prescriptions of the later chapters of Deuteronomy for us to be aware of how close we have come to disobedience as we skirt our assumptions about the nature of whole heart, neighbour and loving like self. The Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that our success with keeping the Law is often poor and that we frequently seek reconciliation with God for the transgressions which can be marked in comparison with the practices prescribed in the Law. The psalmist celebrates the victory of the king over the enemies of the people of Israel as the evidence of the steadfast love of God for David. This love is maintained even as David finds himself in violation of the Law in the treatment of Uriah the husband of Bathsheba. The Great Commandment is lived out, according to Father Larry, in the context of a spirituality or relationship with this God that is centered in thankful appreciation for life. Love is a good thing. Love of God is the relationship which strives through faith to be participant in fullness of life. We understand that this holiness or “wholiness” is the answer to the “Why obey the Great Commandment?” question. As Father Larry suggests we should not get bogged down in the endless debates about who is neighbour and how to love completely but to let the Love we are invited to know in our relationship with God be the force which propels us to loving action with others as witnesses to the nearness of the Kingdom of God.