October 31st 2021. Thirty-first Sunday of Ordinary Time

GOSPEL Mark 12:28-34

Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini, broadcast on Vatican Radio

 

Don Fabio’s reflection follows the Gospel reading . . .

 

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GOSPEL: Mark 12:28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
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 neighbour as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these."
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 neighbour 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.

The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

 

SUMMARY OF HOMILY

 

1. Our love for God must be global and involve the integration of our entire being.

This dialogue between Jesus and the Scribe regarding the greatest of the commandments occurs in the final part of Mark’s Gospel dedicated to the public ministry of Jesus. We are in the twelfth chapter of the Gospel. Chapter thirteen will contain Christ’s discourse on the destruction of the Temple and the end times, while the fourteenth Chapter contains the beginning of the account of the Passion. The dialogue between Jesus and this particular Scribe is the only one of these encounters that has a positive outcome. The Scribe asks for the greatest commandment and Jesus says, “"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.” Here, Jesus states that we must love God with all three dimensions of being: the heart (our interior affectivity), the mind (our reason) and our strength (our works). This all begins with hearing, with receiving the word of God. It Is not enough to perceive God with our feelings, or to think about him with our minds. Nor is it enough to do the works of God without understanding him or feeling him in the profundity of my being. No, the love of God must have this globality, the integration of mind, heart and actions.

 

2. Faith cannot be merely horizontal or vertical. It must embrace both.

Jesus is often awkward in these discussions with the religious leaders, answering questions with other questions. But here he is much more straightforward and gives a direct response. However, then he adds something that has not been asked of him: the second commandment – “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”. Why does Jesus make this addition? If we take the first commandment without the second, we are effectively taking the first tablet of the old Law (man’s relationship with God) and disregarding the second tablet (man’s relationship with others). The faith can be reduced to purely devotional practices, a “vertical” relationship with God that neglects my responsibilities towards others. Equally, it is possible to live only the “horizontal” dimension of the faith, forgetting its transcendent and invisible aspect. The two aspects are essential. I cannot love God authentically without loving my neighbour. It is possible to live in a religious community, carrying out liturgical devotions with perfection, yet without having civil relations with other members of the community. Such a situation is a sacrilege and makes all the devotions vain.

 

3. It is essential that we unite our hearts, minds and actions, loving God and neighbour in an integral way

Often it is easier to do something for someone rather than to wish them well or to take the time to listen to them. It is not enough to do works for others with our hands, we must welcome them with our hearts and listen to them with our minds, so that mind, heart and body are all involved in an integral relationship. God is not someone merely to be understood, nor is he someone merely to be served. He must be known and served. As Jesus says, the Lord our God is Lord alone. He is one. He is not disordered but is harmonious, the sort of harmony that we exhibit when we cooperate with one another. We are on a journey towards union, not uniformity or conformity. A person is composed of mind, heart and body, but is one thing and loves God in an integral way. To unify our love of God with love of neighbour using our hearts, minds and body is an ESSENTIAL task for the Christian. The Scribe responds well and remarks that the love of God and neighbour is worth more than sacrifices or holocausts. Jesus replies that he is not far from the Kingdom of God. The Scribe has understood everything, but he does not enter the Kingdom unless he enter into a relationship with Christ. Entering the Kingdom is not a technique but a relational act. We must entrust ourselves to him and be drawn into his life, which is what is described in the greatest of the commandments..

 

ALTERNATIVE HOMILY . . . In Sunday’s Gospel, a scribe asks Jesus which is the first of all the commandments. Jesus gives the traditional reply, to love God with all of one’s being. This is a verse that would have been recited by the scribes a few times daily. They knew the theory perfectly. In fact, Jesus says, “You are not far from the Kingdom”. But for the scribes, this remained something abstract, something to be repeated and argued over. Jesus is the one who goes beyond the theory. The scribes knew it, and it was for this reason that “no one dared to ask him any more questions”.  Jesus is the one who lives the “all” that is repeated four times in the first commandment. It is this complete love, without reserve, that enables him to be crowned with thorns, to endure the evil which surrounds him, to be crucified. He loves without keeping anything for himself. Jesus tells us that this complete love is what we need to live an authentic life. What is the alternative to this love? If a man said to his wife, “I love you with part of my mind and part of my heart. I will do certain things for you but not everything”, no woman would be impressed! The alternative to the completeness of Christ’s love is the mediocrity with which we live our lives. He loves without conditions and without reserve. Jesus puts flesh on the first commandment. And when we allow ourselves to be loved by him, then his flesh begins to become ours. On this 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time, we consume the Eucharist in order to have this “all” in our hearts, so that we too, through his grace, can become capable along with him of loving without mediocrity, without half measures, but right to the end.