The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to strive for the depth of love expressed by Jesus' life that brings fullness of life.
The reading from the Book of Tobit describes the marriage of Tobiah and Sarah.
* [7:11] You are her brother, and she is your sister: the marriage formula is similar to a marriage contract from the fifth century B.C. found at Elephantine in Egypt: “She is my wife and I am her husband from this day forever.” (Tobit, CHAPTER 7, n.d.)
Psalm 128 praises the Happy Home of the Faithful.
* [Psalm 128] A statement that the ever-reliable God will bless the reverent (Ps 128:1). God’s blessing is concrete: satisfaction and prosperity, a fertile spouse and abundant children (Ps 128:2–4). The perspective is that of the adult male, ordinarily the ruler and representative of the household to the community. The last verses extend the blessing to all the people for generations to come (Ps 128:5–6). (Psalms, PSALM 128, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus presents the First Commandment.
* [12:13–34] In the ensuing conflicts (cf. also Mk 2:1–3:6) Jesus vanquishes his adversaries by his responses to their questions and reduces them to silence (Mk 12:34).
* [12:28–34] See note on Mt 22:34–40. (Mark, CHAPTER 12, n.d.)
Barbara Dilly comments that this multidimensional love triangle not only brings the Kingdom of God nearer, God-centered love brings personal fulfillment and happiness.
It takes most of us, however, a long time to realize that the heavenly bliss we often feel from romantic love is not so heavenly after all. Experiencing the Kingdom of God in relationships brings a much higher level of fulfillment than romantic love, often based on lust. It takes greater commitments than just those recited in most marriage vows. It involves holding oneself to much higher standards of love at many more levels, including a more enlightened love of self. Enlightened self-love takes time to understand and to put into practice. If done well, we develop it in God centered relationships with others. It is my prayer today that all those who are getting married and those of us who are celebrating with them will make the commitment to grow in the kind of love Jesus tells us today is what will bring us and those around us closer to each other and to God. (Dilly, 2023)
Don Schwager quotes “Love God with one's whole self,” by Gregory of Nyssa, 330-395 AD.
"Human life consists in a threefold unity. We are taught similarly by the apostle in what he says to the Ephesians, praying for them that the complete grace of their 'body and soul and spirit' may be preserved at the coming of the Lord. We use the word 'body,' for the nutritive part, the word for the vital, 'soul,' and the word 'spirit' for the intellective dimension. In just this way the Lord instructs the writer of the Gospel that he should set before every commandment that love to God which is exercised with all the heart and soul and mind (Mark 12:30; Matthew 22:37; Luke 10:27). This single phrase embraces the human whole: the corporeal heart, the mind as the higher intellectual and mental nature, and the soul as their mediator." (excerpt from ON THE MAKING OF MAN 8.5.10) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 12:28-34 asks how can we love God and each other with everything in the busyness of life?
It might seem like a tall order to love God with everything you are and to love your neighbor as yourself. But as you take small steps to turn to him throughout your day, you might find that it’s not quite as complicated as it seems.
“Lord, help me to bring my whole—and holy—self to the people and tasks in my day. I trust in you.” (Meditation on Mark 12:28-34, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments on the story of Raphael accompanying Tobiah and the Levirate marriage custom that calls on him to marry Sarah even as her seven previous husbands have died. Jesus adds loving with our whole mind, possibly conscience, to the Shema formula that introduces the Great Commandment in Deuteronomy. Friar Jude reminds us that the scribe realizes the truth of the essential requirement to love God and neighbour.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Theologian Elizabeth Johnson (born 1941) who explores what each person in the Trinity offers to us in our experience of the world and why it matters.
God is God as Spirit-Sophia, the mobile, pure, people-loving Spirit who pervades every wretched corner, wailing at the waste, releasing power that enables fresh starts. Her energy quickens the earth to life, her beauty shines in the stars, her strength breaks forth in every fragment of shalom and renewal….
God is God again as Jesus Christ, Sophia’s child and prophet, and yes, Sophia herself personally pitching her tent in the flesh of humanity to teach the paths of justice. The shape of the historical life of this crucified prophet, risen from the dead, reveals the shape of Holy Wisdom’s love for the world. It is a love that enters in and takes part, that revels at the feasting of outcasts in inclusive table community….
God is God again as unimaginable abyss of livingness….
And this is an absolutely holy mystery of love, bent on the world’s healing and liberation through all of history’s reversals and defeats. (Rohr, 2023)
We have the Spirit to guide our compliance to laws and customs so that love of God and neighbour is always our primary mission.
References
Dilly, B. (2023, June 8). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved June 8, 2023, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/060823.html
Mark, CHAPTER 12. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 8, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/12?28
Meditation on Mark 12:28-34. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 8, 2023, from https://wau.org/meditations/2023/06/08/702182/
Psalms, PSALM 128. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 8, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/128?1
Rohr, R. (2023, June 8). The Trinity Is with and for the World. Daily Meditations Archive: 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-trinity-is-with-and-for-the-world-2023-06-08/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Love the Lord with All Your Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 8, 2023, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2023&date=jun8
Tobit, CHAPTER 7. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 8, 2023, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/tobit/7
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