by Fr. Jose “Joesum” Sumampong, Jr.
October 31, 2021
31 st Sunday in ORDINARY TIME (B)
Thirty First Sunday in OT (B)
Deuteronomy 6:2-6 / Psalm 18:2-4, 47, 51 /
Hebrews 7: 23-28 / Mark 12:28-34
THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS
Word: In last Sunday’s gospel, we left Jesus in Jericho with the blind beggar Bartimaeus. After this meeting, Jesus has a triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mk 11:1-11).
The very next day, Mark tells us, Jesus enters the temple to chase away those who distort its meaning as the place of “prayer for all nations” (Mk 11:12-19). The following day, Jesus comes back to Jerusalem, and his “parable in actions” of the dried up fig-tree teaches us that “the Son came to look for fruits and did not find them” and like this fig tree, this Temple will be destroyed (Mk 11:20-25).
Inside the Temple of Jerusalem, the tone of voice rises high between Jesus and the official leaders, whom Jesus challenges. During these discussions, the most burning problems are tackled: “What is your authority to act thus?” (Mk 11:27-33). “What will the master of the vineyard do if the workers are unworthy of their role?” (Mk 12:1-12). “Must pay taxes to the occupying armies?” (Mk 12:13-17). “What is the fate of the dead in the world beyond?” (Mk 12:18-27).
Truly, we are reading about the last weeks of Jesus on earth. His confrontation with the religious powers has reached a climax.
It is in this context that in this Sunday’s gospel we have this Pharisee, appreciative of the answer given by Jesus about the resurrection from the dead, comes to Jesus and asks him a question too. His question is “Which is the first of all the commandments?” (Mk 12:28).
The question asked by the scribe to Jesus was a classic question in Israel at that point of time. No less than 613 “commandments of God” had been counted in the Bible.
Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!” (Mk 12:29). For Jesus, the priority is God. “Hear, O Israel!” Jesus is quoting here the “Shema Israel” (cf. Deut 6:4-5) which is the daily prayer of every pious Jew. This is the central assertion of the Jewish faith, that is monotheism. Monotheism is now the common heirloom of Jews, Christians and Muslims.
“The Lord our God is Lord alone!” God is one, there is nothing else beside him! And, God is perfectly “unified”, is in full possession of his own Self! This is what Jesus declares most important, when questioned about it.
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mk 12:30). Spontaneously we would hardly think of loving this “Most High God”! This God calls for adoration, sacred awe, or obedience. In the mind of Israel as in the mind of Jesus, love is what God expects of us.
The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mk 12:31). This is where we can recognize Jesus! The scribe was asking for only one commandment. Jesus, as he is wont to do, goes further. We must hold on to these two distinct commandments. We have always tended to fuse them together. Jesus makes it clear that “loving God” was enough or that “loving one’s neighbor” was enough. The second commandment does not replace the first. This is an extremely subtle thought: not the singular “commandment”, as if there was only one! But “these” is a plural. These two commandments are of similar importance.
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Order: The Kingdom of God, prepared at length through centuries of Jewish history, worship and culture, has now come. The Person of Jesus is this Kingdom! A few days later, Jesus will have to add “Love as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12) to give the full dimension to the commandments of love. There are two loves in the Heart of Jesus. The gospel is challenging us to love as Jesus loves.
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Realities: A veteran supervisor for a building firm was getting more and more irate about building mansions for the rich. So on this particular job, he cut a lot of corners, intending by ship shod work to embarrass the owner of the house, as one thing after another would fall apart within a few years … He used rotten wood, cheap paint, wires which were too thin, wrong cement mixtures, rusty water pipes, and crooked timber.
About the-time the house was finished, this supervisor was just finishing his building career. He was retiring, being pensioned off. So the company had a small celebration for him and told him that as a parting gift of gratitude, it was giving him the keys to the grand mansion which he had just built… (Christopher Notes, PAY FOR WORK)
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Direction : O Lord God, grant us the knowledge of your divine words, and fill us with the understanding of your holy Gospel, the riches of your divine gifts, and the indwelling of your Holy Spirit. Help usto keep your commandments with joy and to accomplish them and so fulfill your will. Thus we may be accounted worthy of the blessings and the mercies that are from you now and forever. (Prayer for the Blessings of the Gospel by the Jacobite Church)