20260313 OBEDIENCE AND LOVE IS THE WAY TO GOD’S KINGDOM
13 March 2026, Friday, 3rd Week of Lent
First reading | Hosea 14:2-10 |
A call to conversion and promise of safety
The Lord says this:
Israel, come back to the Lord your God;
your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.
Provide yourself with words
and come back to the Lord.
Say to him, ‘Take all iniquity away
so that we may have happiness again
and offer you our words of praise.
Assyria cannot save us,
we will not ride horses any more,
or say, “Our God!” to what our own hands have made,
for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.’
– I will heal their disloyalty,
I will love them with all my heart,
for my anger has turned from them.
I will fall like dew on Israel.
He shall bloom like the lily,
and thrust out roots like the poplar,
his shoots will spread far;
he will have the beauty of the olive
and the fragrance of Lebanon.
They will come back to live in my shade;
they will grow corn that flourishes,
they will cultivate vines
as renowned as the wine of Helbon.
What has Ephraim to do with idols any more
when it is I who hear his prayer and care for him?
I am like a cypress ever green,
all your fruitfulness comes from me.
Let the wise man understand these words.
Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning.
For the ways of the Lord are straight,
and virtuous men walk in them,
but sinners stumble.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 80(81):6,8-11,14,17 |
I am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
A voice I did not know said to me:
‘I freed your shoulder from the burden;
your hands were freed from the load.
You called in distress and I saved you.
I am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
‘I answered, concealed in the storm cloud;
at the waters of Meribah I tested you.
Listen, my people, to my warning.
O Israel, if only you would heed!
I am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
‘Let there be no foreign god among you,
no worship of an alien god.
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you from the land of Egypt.
I am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
‘O that my people would heed me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
But Israel I would feed with finest wheat
and fill them with honey from the rock.’
I am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
Gospel Acclamation |
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
The seed is the word of God, Christ the sower;
whoever finds this seed will remain for ever.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Or: | Mt4:17 |
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Repent, says the Lord,
for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Gospel | Mark 12:28-34 |
'You are not far from the kingdom of God'
One of the scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must 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 must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’ The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.’ Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him any more.
OBEDIENCE AND LOVE IS THE WAY TO GOD’S KINGDOM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [HOS 14:2-10; PS 81:6,8-11,14,17; MK 12:28-34]
In the Gospel, Jesus, seeing how wisely the Scribe had answered, said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Indeed, our whole life on earth and beyond this life is to live in the Kingdom of God. Happiness is to live in God’s Kingdom where there is love and fulfilment. This is the goal of life. However, whilst entry into the fullness of the Kingdom of God happens at the end of our life, we must strive to enter the Kingdom of God now. In the Synoptic Gospels, the entire preaching of Jesus and His ministry centres on the proclamation of the Kingdom of God.
But how can we enter the Kingdom? We are called by Hosea to draw near to God. “The Lord says this: Israel, come back to the Lord your God; your iniquity was the cause of your downfall.” Sin is what separates us from God and from our fellow men. We need to ask God for forgiveness and for Him to receive us back graciously. “Provide yourself with words and come back to the Lord. Say to him, ‘Take all iniquity away so that we may have happiness again and offer you our words of praise.'” Indeed, what God asks of us is not merely to be religious, performing empty rituals and sacrifices without first giving Him our heart and our love. God had earlier said, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” (Hos 6:6) God wants us to set our lives right before we come to Him. What He asks of us is that we come with a broken and contrite heart. (Ps 51:15-17)
Secondly, we need to renounce false gods. We have to ask ourselves what the false gods in our lives are. The Israelites chose to rely on their military might, which they thought Assyria could supply because it was the regional superpower at that time. They deceived themselves, going against the advice of the prophets not to rely on alliances with Assyria. But the king of Israel put his trust not in God but in Assyria, which ironically eventually destroyed Israel. So, too, many of us are tempted to rely on might and strength, and on alliances with those who have values that are worldly and in opposition to the Gospel values. We think our happiness lies in securing more wealth, a promotion at work, or fame. Indeed, we must also say, “Assyria cannot save us, we will not ride horses any more, or say, ‘Our god!’ to what our own hands have made, for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.”
Thirdly, we are called to rely on God’s fatherly love for us. His love will give us the strength to let go of our fears and our sins. His love will draw us back to Him. “I will heal their disloyalty, I will love them with all my heart, for my anger has turned from them.” God is like the prodigal father described by the Lord in the Gospel. He waits anxiously for the prodigal son to return home. Our God is a God of love and compassion. God has said through Hosea, “How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.” (Hos 11:8f)
The good news is that when we turn back to the Lord, we will flourish. “I will fall like dew on Israel. He shall bloom like the lily, and thrust out roots like the poplar, his shoots will spread far; He will have the beauty of the olive and the fragrance of Lebanon.” As we flourish, others will also flourish through us. They will come to take shade and protection from us. “They will come back to live in my shade; they will grow corn that flourishes, they will cultivate vines as renowned as the wine of Helbon.” Indeed, God wants to use us as His instruments of blessing to others. When we are full of life and love, we cannot but also influence others positively. We will be filled with His love and joy even in the midst of suffering, peace in times of trouble, fortitude when confronted with trials, and above all, contentment in every circumstance because we know that God is with us and our life is in Him.
Whilst the First Reading underscores that entry into the Kingdom of God is by returning to the Lord in obedience to His call and commands, the Gospel underscores the love of God and of our neighbour as the summary of the covenant requirements. When the Scribe asked the Lord, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must 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 must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” Indeed, Jesus ingeniously brought the two great commandments and placed them side by side. For the Jews, the Shema is the central creed of Judaism taken from Deuteronomy 6:4. But what is important is that Jesus placed next to the Shema, the love of neighbour, a quotation from Leviticus 19:18.
The Scribe readily agreed with Jesus on His summary of the Law and even added that these two commandments surpassed even the offering of sacrifices to God. He said, “Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust of sacrifice.” What is not said, however, is how the Scribe interpreted the meaning of “neighbour”. In its original context, it referred to a fellow Jew. But Jesus cited it without qualification and, in fact, intended that the neighbour also refers to the Gentiles and even their enemies, as we read in the Sermon on the Mount. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, ‘Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.'” (Mt 5:43-45)
However, this is perhaps the greatest challenge. It is easy to talk about loving God, but to love God in our neighbours is a difficult task. How many of us can love our neighbour like the Good Samaritan in the Gospel story? Like the priest and the Levite, we would walk past the wounded traveller because we are eager to get on with the ritual we have to perform in church. How many of us would inconvenience ourselves, especially when it interferes with our work or our plans, to help others? At most, we help others at our convenience and according to our own preferences. But perhaps the Scribe had risen above his fellow scribes and Pharisees, and that is why Jesus was pleased with him. With a look of love in Jesus’ eyes, He said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”
So too, we need to examine ourselves, as the Prophet Hosea urges of us. “Let the wise man understand these words. Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning. For the ways of the Lord are straight, and virtuous men walk in them, but sinners stumble.” How wise are we when it comes to choosing God or choosing the world? Will we learn to trust in His love and divine providence, or will we choose false gods and place our trust in false security? During this season of Lent, the Church is inviting us to come back to God. Like an adulterous wife or a lover who turns away from God’s love to other lovers who abuse us and use us, we must return to God who truly loves us. God is ever ready to receive us back.
If we are still unresponsive, let us reflect on the love of God for us. When Moses told the people to love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength, it was on account of the fact that God had already shown them His love in the Exodus. We too must recall the love of God for us in so many ways in our lives. If we are wise, then we will also act like the people of Israel and return to God. We must be discerning and know whom to choose. Hosea’s message of wisdom is directed to us. Indeed, we must also learn from the Scribe as well. If he could enter the kingdom of God it was because he came to realise that loving God and allowing God to love him is more important than all the rituals anyone could perform. Perhaps, he was wise enough to see that all his attempts to love God with all his heart had failed because he could never achieve perfection in fulfilling the Law by his own strength. He had to rely on God’s mercy to find salvation, because we too are lost sinners like the Israelites. It is God who welcomes us back with open arms of love and mercy.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
