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Let Me Grow in Love









Let Me Grow in Love

Mk 12:28 – 34
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time

Introduction

The Gospel today talks about a scribe who came to Jesus one day asking him which is the first of all the commandments. Jesus cites him two commandments and not one: the love for God and the love for one’s neighbor.

The Gospel

Our reading today tells of how a scribe came to Jesus asking him: “ Which is the first of all the commandments?”  Jesus replies first by quoting Deut 6: 4 – 5, a well known prayer that is recited by every pious Jew twice daily.  Jesus said: “ 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.”             
Then Jesus quotes another precept taken from Lev 19:18, saying: “ The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Jesus finishes his answer by saying: “ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 
It can be observed that while the scribe asked Jesus which is the greatest commandment (presumably a single commandment),  Jesus gives two commandments and not one. This shows that the two commandments are two distinct but inseparable commandments.  To these two commandments fused into one, Jesus says: “ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
In the Jewish law, there are 613 precepts or commandments that must be observed by any pious Jew. The great number of commandments could be overwhelming especially for those who meticulously follow the commandments to the letter. Jesus somehow distills and summarizes the whole system of laws into these two basic commandments: love of God and love of neighbor.
Clearly, the scribe who asked Jesus was satisfied with Jesus’ reply as he said: “ 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.” 
The scribe apparently agrees with Jesus by deeming love to be the underlying basis even for the important system of sacrifices and offerings that was held in high esteem by the law. 
Jesus, seeing the sincerity of the scribe to know and understand the law said: “ You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

Reflection
In the gospel today, Jesus and the scribe were discussing about commandments. The scribe, in asking Jesus which is the greatest commandment, somehow wanted to get the essence of the law by sifting through all of the hundreds of precepts and commandments enshrined in the law.
Jesus gives him an answer and points to the root and the underlying basis of all the commandments : Love. The commandments were to ensure that one grows in love, that one grows in charity as one lives through life.
The first of these loves is the singular and unique love for God. This love is to be an undivided love and in fact a unique kind of love since the “Lord our God is Lord alone.” 
This is why the commandment to love God is metaphorically described as a love with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind and all our strength. The word “all” is repeated because our love for God should remain undivided and that there should be no other love that is to be greater than our love for the Lord. No earthly created thing should stand in the way of our love for God, for the Lord our God is Lord and deserves all.
Why does God demand from us an undivided love? Because he too, God Almighty, loves us with an undivided love. God gives himself totally and entirely to us, loving each of us in quite a unique way that no words can ever describe.
The second of these loves is love for one’s neighbor. The comparative love that is used to describe the love for one’s neighbor is the love one has for oneself.  We wish no harm for ourselves. We care for ourselves, our bodies and our spirits. The comparison is simple yet profound and easily understandable.
The love we ought to have for our neighbor is the same love that we give ourselves. This identical love, the love of neighbor and self, shows us that there is to be nothing selfish, nothing abusive, nothing fraudulent or covetous in our relationship with others. It must remain a love that is truly caring and concerned.
But while the love for God and one’s neighbor seem to be two distinct kinds of love, they remain seamlessly inseparable. One cannot claim to have one without the other. One simply cannot claim to love God and hate one’s neighbor at the same time.
To grow in love and to live in love is the goal of all of God’s commandments. Our lives are meant to be loving, nurturing, caring and unselfish. We are meant to live by generously loving , giving ourselves to God and our neighbor and caring for the things that will benefit one’s neighbor.
In doing so, we become reflections of our very essence, that we are creatures created by God who is himself love and has created us out of his infinite love.
Let us ask the grace from God to grow in love; to be loving as he is loving.

Prayer
            Dear Lord, help me to grow in love. Help me live my life loving you totally with my whole being. Help me grow in love by caring for other people in the way that I care for myself.  Amen.


“ Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. “  - 1 John 4: 7


For more reflections like this visit my blog:  thevineyardlaborer.blogspot.com





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