Mark 12:28-34

THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Mark 12:28-34

“One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" 

A good Sunday to all. 

For the last three days Jesus has been in Jerusalem; he has thrown out the temple sellers and this gesture made the conflict with religious authority insoluble. The scribes, the priests, and the elders all tried to incriminate him for any reason to remove him from the scene. Today's text places him in the temple where there was a series of discussions and controversies, and the evangelist Mark names seven of these discussions. 

We remember, for example, the discussion where they ask Jesus if it is lawful to pay tribute to the temple; then the discussion about the resurrection. And today is the fifth controversy that Jesus has with these religious authorities. Today Mark presents a scribe who has been present in the previous controversies and admired the answers that Jesus gave. The evangelist says the scribe "heard the discussion and saw the correctness of the answer." He proposed a theological question that was much discussed among the scribes: "What is the most important precept?" the greatest of all, that from which all the rest derive. 

One can tell that this scribe is not malicious when he presents himself to Jesus, in contrast to those who had preceded him. He just wants to know what Jesus thinks about this question. Among the rabbis, it was discussed which was the first commandment. It was not a superficial question because it was a matter of discerning from which commandment all the others derived. The evangelist Mark uses the Greek verb 'kremánumi,' which means 'to take' and 'to search.' 

In other words, a single commandment, the most important one, from which all others follow. An example that can clarify and can help: What is the commandment for our life from which all others derive? If, for example, the main commandment is money, from this commandment, derive hard work, strive to get up early in the morning and then, perhaps also to possess, use, steal, and be clever ... Then, from this 'commandment,' all others derive. The scribes had discovered 613 commandments of the Law, and the question was: Of these 613 commandments, which one is the most important? From which commandments are all the others linked? It is essential that we also ask ourselves this straightforward question: What is the commandment from which all the behaviors that I have in my life derive? It is not a frivolous question if we ask it for real. What did the rabbis say? 

There were many opinions, the same as today. Some said that the commandments are all the same and one had to observe them all. But the opinion that gathered the most consensus was the one that held that the most important commandment was the one that even God observed: the Sabbath ... because even God rested on the Sabbath. Others argued that the most important commandment was in not having another god, therefore, to avoid idols. Then there were the many sayings of Rabbi Hillel: 'What you do not want them to do to you, do not do it to your neighbor. This is the law, and the rest is comment.' The saying of Rabbi Akiva is also famous: 'Love your neighbor as yourself; this is the greatest principle of the Torah.'

Listen to what Jesus thinks: 

“Jesus replied, ‘The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord, our God, is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.’" 

Contrary to what the scribe expected, Jesus responded, ignoring the commandment of Moses. And, instead of a commandment, Jesus cites Israel's Creed: Hear, O Israel! The first commandment is to listen to God. And we know that 'listening' means letting someone enter our life because when words, advice, and suggestions enter our hearts, we become and act according to the adherence that we have given to this listening. Let someone enter into our life, listen… and let the word of God enter into our hearts that transforms us. 

Therefore, this is the first commandment that Israel has: ‘To hear.’ And interestingly, it is here where the name of the God that you must allow to enter is mentioned because one god is not the same as another. The God of Israel has a name that is cited three times in this Creed. We do not pronounce this name out of respect for the Israelites, but we call it 'Adonai.' 'Hear O Israel, Adonai is our God ... to the one, God Adonai, and you will love Adonai'. The name of the God of Israel is given: 'You must listen to Adonai.' And what does this God say to you when you let him in? He tells you that He is the liberator, the father of the poor, of widows, the protector of foreigners. It is an exact identity. He is a God who loves his people, and he has shown it throughout history. 

Therefore, 'let him in ... listen to the history of your people and you will know who this God is, what he has done for you.' And if you listen to him, you will keep his word. If we listen to the wrong god, if we listen to idols (money, career, success, be the first at all costs ...) if this is our god and we listen to it, we dehumanize, we walk on the wrong road. 'Adonai must be your only Lord.' 

Then come to the prescriptions, the commandments: "You will love him with all your heart ...." We know that the heart it is the center of all options; the Israelites decided, 'thought' with their hearts. Loving God with all your heart means that He is at the origin of all our decisions. The behavior we have is always in tune with your decisions. If we have understood who this God is, we trust him. And we let him enter into our lives with his word. 

Then, "with all your soul." The soul = 'nefesh' = life. All moments of life must be oriented by the light that comes from God; the concrete life must be spent to fulfill the will of the Lord. Therefore, there are no compartments where options suggested by idols can be made. All life must be oriented to the Lord. 'You will love the Lord with all your life.' 

Then, "with all your strength." The Hebrew text says 'bejón meodeja,' which means with everything, with everything you possess, with all the gifts you have received from God, you must put everything in service of your project about the world. 

And then Jesus adds something to this Creed of Israel. You will love him "with all your mind" = 'dianoia' in Greek. With all the mind ... If you want the adhesion to God to be solid, unbreakable, to be serious and well-founded, it is necessary to love him 'with the whole mind,' with intelligence, with study. The option to love this God must be weighed and rationed. 

This is important and very current for us because we adhere to the God of Jesus of Nazareth who has nothing in common with fake faith and superstitions or certain devotional practices ... devotions to the relics are often not distinguished from the use of talismans or amulets. He who does not devote time to the study of the Word of God, who is disinterested in theological themes, of ecclesial problems, the one who is not able to give a reason for his faith, cannot certainly say that he loves God 'with all his mind.' 

Then, the second commandment: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these." Without being asked, Jesus added this second commandment. The context where Jesus has taken it is interesting. It is found in the Old Testament, in chapter 19 of the book of Leviticus. The context is interesting because that is where the order is given to landowners that when they plow their fields, they should not do it in the borders, and they cannot collect everything because they must leave something for the poor to have something. 

The rabbis said that if you happen to forget a bunch of grains and you realize that you forgot it, you cannot go back to pick it up because God made you forget it because He cares about the poor. In this context, this prescription of God is in Leviticus: that of loving your neighbor as yourself. To love means to make an option in favor of the brother or sister's life. Therefore, in each option, one must ask: With what I am doing, do I give life to the brother? Even our words: we must always ask ourselves if what we say produces life or create pain and suffering. 

Do I give hope? Is it a word that encourages, that helps to overcome difficulties ... or is it a word that removes the smile? We must always ask ourselves this question because to love our neighbor means supporting him and taking part in his life. And "love him as yourself." This is the apex of the Old Testament, but it was not the last frontier. But as Jesus is speaking with a rabbi, he uses words that the rabbi can understand since it is a reference to the Torah that the rabbi knows very well. 

We still have to clarify the relationship between these two commandments: love God and love your neighbor. There is a reasonably widespread interpretation that is dangerous. It is the one that says there is a time to dedicate ourselves to work so that no one is lacking in clothing, food, help, instruction and everything necessary for life. It is necessary to dedicate time to this, but you also need to dedicate time to the Lord, prayers, devotions, Sunday liturgical celebrations... 

This interpretation is dangerous because it interprets these two commandments in opposition because what is given to one seems to be taken away from the other. It seems as if God and neighbor are fighting. Remember that only the Gospel of Mark mentions the ‘two commandments’ placed in hierarchical order: one first and one second. 

Matthew goes a step further. He says that 'the second is similar to the first.' And Luke puts neither first nor second; He says there is only one commandment: 'Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.' And it does not end here. In all the rest of the New Testament, the two commandments were never again mentioned, but only a single commandment: love for the brother/sister. 

Remember the Gospel of John, in chapter 15, when it refers to the word of Jesus that says: "This is my only commandment: to love one another." In the letter to the Romans, Paul says: “All the commandments ... do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, they are summarized in these words: you will love your neighbor as yourself.” Full compliance with the law is love. And it is even clearer in the letter to the Galatians: “The whole law finds its fulfillment in a single precept: you will love your neighbor as yourself.” 

So, how to understand the love of God? 'Love him with all your heart ... with all your mind... with all your strength ... with all your life ....' What does this command mean? Only one thing: it means to welcome God’s love design. God wants to introduce his life and his love into the world. Loving him means letting himself be involved in this project, in his design, and sharing love with his brother and sister, communicate this life that He wants to give to all. And this is done in the love of the brother, in the love of neighbor. We cannot return God’s love directly to Him; we must make it pass through the brother. 

And loving your brother is not always easy because it is not about loving our friends but the 'brothers.' We cannot look for the brother; friends are sought, not brothers. And the love of the brothers means to receive those who reach us, and it cannot be otherwise. And among the brothers some are false, hypocritical, aggressive, and violent. And it is difficult to practice the command to love them. And here we come to the last frontier indicated by Jesus: to love the brother, everybody, and the enemies ... not as ourselves, but as God has loved them. One cannot go any further. 

It is important to be aware that it is hard to love a brother who has hurt us. And this is why we should refer to the first commandment, that is, to the adhesion that we must give to this project of love which is the design of God. If we eliminate God, it is challenging to find the solid foundation of unconditional love. A love that leads us to commit ourselves to life and only life, always, even for the life of the enemy. If there is no God as a reference, it is complicated to practice this commandment. Now listen to the response of the rabbi who asked Jesus the question: 

“The scribe said to him, ‘Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, 'He is One, and there is no other than he.' And 'to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And no one dared to ask him any more questions.”

We wonder now what is the fantastic thing that this rabbi said to receive a compliment so beautiful from Jesus. In reality, he has only repeated what Jesus had said. And on the other hand, Jesus did nothing but mention two well-known texts of Scripture. The evangelist notes that this man has answered wisely, although he has repeated what Jesus had said. 

Jesus adds: "You are not far from the kingdom of God." Why this praise? Because, in the words of the rabbi, there is a union: the union between the practice of the two commandments, therefore, the practice of love and the practice of religion, rites, sacrifices offered in the temple. Jesus has just expelled the sellers from the temple and has condemned that religious practice with which it was thought that one could be in a good relationship with God; the reduction of the relationship with God to religious rites. Jesus praises the rabbi because he has understood that God is not interested in religious practice without a life of love. 

This rabbi knows the Scripture. The book of Proverbs says in chapter 21: "Practice justice and equity for the Lord; this is worth more than the sacrifices." Also, there is another well-known text that Jesus has cited twice because he appreciated it so much and it is found in the book of the prophet Hosea. When Jesus argues with the rabbis, at a certain moment, he says: "Go and find out what it means: I want works of love, not sacrifices." The only thing that interests God is not the perfume of the incense that rise to heaven from the temple. God is interested in only one thing: that we love our brothers and sisters; that we worry that the brother has a life. 

And Jesus adds: "You are not far from the kingdom of God." It is a somewhat enigmatic addition. We wonder why Jesus did not tell him what he lacks, and what he should do ... For example, remember that young man who presents himself to Jesus, he had observed all the commandments, and Jesus said: “You still lack one thing; go, sell everything and then you can enter the kingdom of God.” But to this rabbi, Jesus does not tell him what he lacks. He only says: You are not far from the kingdom of God. It is enigmatic. And I would say that on purpose it must be left in suspense. This will lead him to create a rupture with the diffuse conception about how to love God. 

In Israel, the relationship with God was carried out in the cult, and the impeccable religious practice was sufficient to be in a good relationship with the Lord. This rabbi is not far from the kingdom of God. After having understood this, Jesus invites him to keep it in mind. Jesus is at the end of his journey; he is about to give his life as a total gift. It will be the centurion who will recognize him as the Son of God, that is, as the image of the God of Israel, the authentic face of the God of Israel. 

This enigmatic answer is an invitation, also for us. To truly enter the kingdom of God, we must be attentive to the donation of the life that Jesus will do, because after understanding this, it will be necessary to make the choice that Jesus has made. 

I wish everyone a good Sunday and a good week.