The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present the essential role of love in our observance of the Law and Commandments.
The reading from the Book of Deuteronomy cites The Great Commandment.
* [6:4–5] This passage, an expansion of the first commandment (5:6–10), contains the basic principle of the whole Mosaic law, the keynote of the Book of Deuteronomy: since the Lord alone is God, Israel must love him with an undivided heart. Jesus cited these words as “the greatest and the first commandment,” embracing in itself the whole law of God (Mt 22:37–38; Mk 12:29–30; Lk 10:27).
* [6:4] Hear, O Israel!: in Hebrew, shema yisra’el; hence this passage (vv. 4–9), containing the Great Commandment, is called the Shema. In later Jewish tradition, 11:13–21 and Nm 15:37–41 were added to form a prayer recited every evening and morning. The LORD is our God, the LORD alone: other possible translations are “the Lord our God is one Lord”; “the Lord our God, the Lord is one”; “the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.”
* [6:8] Bind them…as a sign: these injunctions were probably meant merely in a figurative sense; cf. Ex 13:9, 16. In the late postexilic period, they were taken quite literally, and devout Jews tied on their arms and foreheads “phylacteries,” boxes containing strips of parchment on which these words were inscribed; cf. Mt 23:5. (Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)
Psalm 18 is a Royal Thanksgiving for Victory.
* [Psalm 18] A royal thanksgiving for a military victory, duplicated in 2 Sm 22. Thanksgiving Psalms are in essence reports of divine rescue. The Psalm has two parallel reports of rescue, the first told from a heavenly perspective (Ps 18:5–20), and the second from an earthly perspective (Ps 18:36–46). The first report adapts old mythic language of a cosmic battle between sea and rainstorm in order to depict God’s rescue of the Israelite king from his enemies. Each report has a short hymnic introduction (Ps 18:2–4, 32–36) and conclusion (Ps 18:21–31, 47–50).
* [18:3] My saving horn: my strong savior. The horn referred to is the weapon of a bull and the symbol of fertility, cf. 1 Sm 2:10; Ps 132:17; Lk 1:69. (Psalms, PSALM 18 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the reading from the Letter to the Hebrews, Jesus is the high priest.
* [7:25] To make intercession: the intercession of the exalted Jesus, not the sequel to his completed sacrifice but its eternal presence in heaven; cf. Rom 8:34.
* [7:26] This verse with its list of attributes is reminiscent of Heb 7:3 and is perhaps a hymnic counterpart to it, contrasting the exalted Jesus with Melchizedek.
* [7:26–28] Jesus is precisely the high priest whom the human race requires, holy and sinless, installed far above humanity (Heb 7:26); one having no need to offer sacrifice daily for sins but making a single offering of himself (Heb 7:27) once for all. The law could only appoint high priests with human limitations, but the fulfillment of God’s oath regarding the priesthood of Melchizedek (Ps 110:4) makes the Son of God the perfect priest forever (Heb 7:28).
* [7:27] Such daily sacrifice is nowhere mentioned in the Mosaic law; only on the Day of Atonement is it prescribed that the high priest must offer sacrifice…for his own sins and then for those of the people (Lv 16:11–19). Once for all: this translates the Greek words ephapax/hapax that occur eleven times in Hebrews. (Hebrews, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus addresses a scribe about The First Commandment.
* [12:28–34] See note on Mt 22:34–40.
* [22:34–40] The Marcan parallel (Mk 12:28–34) is an exchange between Jesus and a scribe who is impressed by the way in which Jesus has conducted himself in the previous controversy (Mk 12:28), who compliments him for the answer he gives him (Mk 12:32), and who is said by Jesus to be “not far from the kingdom of God” (Mk 12:34). Matthew has sharpened that scene. The questioner, as the representative of other Pharisees, tests Jesus by his question (Mt 22:34–35), and both his reaction to Jesus’ reply and Jesus’ commendation of him are lacking. (Mark, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)
Tamora Whitney comments that Jesus reminds us about the first commandment and the most important. And what’s the second? To love our neighbor like we love ourselves.
Now here’s the question: Who’s our neighbor? Actually everyone. Everyone is made in God’s image. Everyone should love God (like God loves everyone) and everyone should love each other. If that happens, everything else will fall into place. If everyone loved God and everyone else, there would be no need for any further commandments. You don’t steal from people you love. You don’t cheat on people you love. You don’t kill people you love. You love them. If we love God, and if we love all God’s people in the image of God, we don’t need anything else. (Whitney, n.d.)
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 keep our focus on the Lord as this scribe did? How can we make sure that we are placing a priority on loving him? We can remember to dedicate even the ordinary parts of our days to the Lord. We can make a morning offering to him every day when we wake up and try lifting up some spontaneous prayers at different times during the day. We can invite the Lord into a stressful meeting, look for him in our fellow commuters, or pause to acknowledge the Holy Spirit at the kitchen sink.
Loving God with all our hearts doesn’t have to be an intense, all-day prayer marathon. Sometimes all it takes is a glance toward heaven to refocus our hearts on him. The more you do this, the more you’ll find your preoccupations and worries fading into the background—and Jesus, your loving Savior, filling your heart and your vision!
“Jesus, draw my eyes to you more and more as I offer you this day and all that it brings!” (Meditation on Mark 12:28-34, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler notes that the Deuteronomy passage declares the Law a special gift from God that calls Israel to love God with our intellect, in times of persecution, and with our physical possessions. Hebrews speaks of practices fulfilled by Jesus in His priesthood of Melchizedek. Friar Jude notes the agreement of the scribe in Mark to Jesus' response with the addition of mind or conscience to the aspects of loving God with our total being.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reminds us that we are never separate from the love of God.
All spiritual disciplines have one purpose: to get rid of illusions so we can be more fully present to what is. These disciplines exist so that we can see what is, see who we are, and see what is happening. What is love, so much so that even the tragic will be used for purposes of transformation into love. It is God, who is love, giving away God every moment as the reality of our life. Who we are is love, because we are created in God’s image. What is happening is God living in us, with us, and through us as our unique manifestation of love. And each one of us is a bit different because the forms of love are infinite. [1] (Rohr, n.d.)
We ponder the ancient commandments that call us to make love of God and neighbour the foundation of observing the Law of God.
References
Deuteronomy, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/deuteronomy/6?2
Hebrews, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/7?23
Mark, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/12?28
Matthew, CHAPTER 22 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/22?34=#48022034
Meditation on Mark 12:28-34. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/11/03/1121840/
Psalms, PSALM 18 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/18?2
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/confidence-in-love/
Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=nov3
Whitney, T. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved November 3, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/110324.html
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