“Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is: Hear, Israel!
The Lord, our God, is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your
heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. And after this
comes a second commandment: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is
no commandment greater than these two.” The teacher of the Law said to him, “Well
spoken, Master; you are right when you say that he is one, and there is no other besides
him. To love him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength,
and to love our neighbor as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or
sacrifice.” Jesus approved this answer and said, “You are not far from the kingdom
of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Reflect
“Love of God and neighbor.” Today’s Gospel narrates how a teacher of the law
asked Jesus about the first of the commandments. Jesus referred to the Shema from
Deuteronomy (cf. Dt. 6:4-5), which highlights the love of God, and to the love of
neighbor from Leviticus (Lev. 19:18). It is interesting to reflect that the Shema mandates
us to love God with whole heart, whole soul and with all our strength while the Markan
version of the same imperative mandates us to love God with our whole heart, whole
soul, whole mind and with all our strength. We may reflect further on the remarks of
the teacher of the law, which includes “whole understanding.” Do we understand that
the Lenten observances we do are not merely for the salvation of the self? Every Lenten
practice must lead to our participation in God’s salvific act which is encompassing.
May this Lenten journey enable us to truly go out of ourselves.
© Copyright Bible Diary 2024