20211031 ALL EMBRACING LOVE OF GOD FOR HUMANITY
31 October, 2021, Sunday, 31st Week, Ordinary Time
First reading |
Deuteronomy 6:2-6 © |
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart
Moses said to the people: ‘If you fear the Lord your God all the days of your life and if you keep all his laws and commandments which I lay on you, you will have a long life, you and your son and your grandson. Listen then, Israel, keep and observe what will make you prosper and give you great increase, as the Lord the God of your fathers has promised you, giving you a land where milk and honey flow.
‘Listen, Israel: the Lord our God is the one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. Let these words I urge on you today be written on your heart.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 17(18):2-4,47,51 © |
I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, Lord, my strength,
my rock, my fortress, my saviour.
My God is the rock where I take refuge;
my shield, my mighty help, my stronghold.
The Lord is worthy of all praise,
when I call I am saved from my foes.
I love you, Lord, my strength.
Long life to the Lord, my rock!
Praised be the God who saves me,
He has given great victories to his king
and shown his love for his anointed.
I love you, Lord, my strength.
Second reading | Hebrews 7:23-28 © |
Christ, because he remains for ever, can never lose his priesthood
There used to be a great number of priests under the former covenant, because death put an end to each one of them; but this one, because he remains for ever, can never lose his priesthood. It follows, then, that his power to save is utterly certain, since he is living for ever to intercede for all who come to God through him.
To suit us, the ideal high priest would have to be holy, innocent and uncontaminated, beyond the influence of sinners, and raised up above the heavens; one who would not need to offer sacrifices every day, as the other high priests do for their own sins and then for those of the people, because he has done this once and for all by offering himself. The Law appoints high priests who are men subject to weakness; but the promise on oath, which came after the Law, appointed the Son who is made perfect for ever.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Or: | Jn14:23 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Jesus said: ‘If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.’
Alleluia!
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.
ALL EMBRACING LOVE OF GOD FOR HUMANITY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [DT 6:2-6; HEB 7:23-28; MK 12:28-34 ]
What is the most important thing in life? What is it that can command our entire being, our heart, mind, soul and body? In other words, what would you give yourself wholeheartedly to, every ounce of your energy and time? This is the most important question we need to answer for ourselves. The answer will determine what drives us in life. Without an overarching foundation of life, we will live fragmented lives, pursuing one thing after another, yearning for the passing things of this world which can never satisfy us, neither pleasure, success, achievements, fame or glory. Life will be futile, especially for those without any hope for life beyond death.
It is for this reason that one of the scribes who was impressed with Jesus’ strong refutation of the Sadducees’ denial of the resurrection, asked Him the all-important question that concerns all believers, and more so as a Jew and a teacher of the Law. He asked, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Moses had given them the Decalogue and a whole set of laws to help them to live out their status as God’s chosen people. In the first reading, Moses said to the people, “If you fear the Lord your God all the days of your life and if you keep all his laws and commandments which I lay on you, you will have a long life, you and your son and your grandson. Listen then, Israel, keep and observe what will make you prosper and give you great increase.” But there were so many laws and it would be impossible to observe all of them all the time.
The response of Jesus was clear. He did not teach anything new but simply extracted a text each from the book of Deuteronomy and Leviticus and placed them alongside each other. In this way, Jesus made it clear that the love of God and the love of neighbour, although distinguished, cannot be separated. Living out these two commandments will give us meaning and joy. It is true that we might not necessarily be blessed with riches even if we obey the laws, but we will live a rich life nevertheless. The prosperity gospel’s claim of wealth and riches are based on a few selected texts of the bible, otherwise Jesus and the apostles would not have lived a life of poverty as they would have fulfilled the Law more than others. If one truly loves his brothers and sisters, he can never be too rich because he is called to share with others who have much less. Whatever he has belongs not to him but to God’s people, of which he is called to be a steward in distributing God’s wealth to others.
However, we must be clear of the theological foundation for this intrinsic connection between the love of God and love of neighbour. Jesus provided the foundation for these two commandments. He cited the book of Deuteronomy, “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God is the one Lord.” This is an important affirmation because if God is One, He is therefore the Lord of all. We all belong to Him because we are all His creatures. This is the reason why the Christian Faith shares with other monotheistic religions our profession of God as One. From our perspective, Jews, Muslims and Christians worship the same God.
Monotheism is the foundation of unity of life. If creation is ruled by many gods and deities, there would be confusion, competition and disorder. Only because God is One, can we focus our entire self on Him, finding meaning, purpose and direction instead of being torn apart by the competing and conflicting demands of the deities. If there is no unity among the gods, there will be no unity among humanity as well, no focus, no direction, no ultimate goal to strive for. Our lives will be ruled by the whims and fancies of the gods, or the other extreme is to deny the existence of these gods and profess atheism, which will end with us making ourselves as gods, which is no better than polytheism. Only faith in the One God can ensure unity of life.
For this reason, we are called to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. In other words, we are to give our entire self to God and find focus in Him. Only God deserves our entire devotion and love. Only He can fulfil us and only He can give us life and love. The call to love God with all our heart underscores that our relationship with God is founded on love. It is the heart that feels the presence of God and drives the will to respond to His love. The soul is the animating principle which the heart drives. Only then comes the mind, that is, the understanding of God and the scriptures. This shows that whilst understanding the scriptures and theology is important, and there should be no watering down of the need to increase our knowledge of God, yet, it is the heart that makes the ultimate conclusion, not the mind. The intellect can only guide us to understand our decision but at the end of the day, it is the heart that decides based on what is presented. However, Jesus added another word that is not found in the book of Deuteronomy, which is strength, emphasizing that the love of God must be expressed bodily also, not just in worship but in practical love for our neighbours.
The first implication of this foundational principle means that humanity is one. We are all children of God. God is the Father of us all. No one is excluded from the love of God. But it also means that no religion can claim exclusivity. This is particularly challenging for the Jews because Israel, as the Chosen People of God, was chosen not for the sake of themselves but for the sake of the rest of humanity. They were not called to save their race alone but to be the light for the rest of humanity to come to know the One God who created them and loves them equally. This also means that no true religion that teaches their members to love God and to love their neighbours are outside the all-embracing love of God.
The second implication is the question “who is my neighbour?” In the context of the Old Testament, “neighbour” refers to fellow Israelites and those foreigners who lived with them, but it did not extend beyond this closed community. The answer to this question is well answered in the story of the Good Samaritan. (Lk 10:25-37) In other words, the “neighbour” in Jesus’ consideration goes beyond fellow Jews, fellow Christians, or our enemies, but everyone, for as the Lord said, “just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Mt 25:40) Whoever is in need is our neighbour, for Jesus lives in him or her.
The third implication is a critique on the relative importance of worship. “The scribe said to him, ‘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.'” For the Sadducees and the Jews, the Temple worship was of great importance to their spiritual life. But the scribe came to understand the implication of what Jesus said, that rituals, sacrifices and worship are means to an end, which is the love of God and neighbour. Any worship that does not make us love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all our strength, and loving our neighbours as much as we love ourselves, is faulty.
It is significant that after the reply of our Lord, “no one dared to question him anymore.” This is because the implications of what Jesus said would require a change of mindset towards our own religion itself, other religions and races; and towards our fellowmen. Would the scribe and even the disciples of Jesus be ready to accept others who are non-Jews as the children of God and love them as they loved their own race? Can we accept that the God whom we worship is truly the God of all even though not all know Him fully or even acknowledge Him? This is an invitation for us believers to be more embracing of people of other faiths and even those without faith. Finally, can we accept that worship and rituals are means to attain union with God and strengthening of love of neighbour and not the end itself?
In the second reading, Jesus as our High Priest shows us the way to come to the presence of God. He did this by offering Himself once and for all for us on the cross. He died for sinners in obedience to His Father’s will. It is His love for us and for His Father that demonstrates how Jesus loved His Father with all His heart, soul, mind and strength and His neighbours as Himself. We too are called to imitate Him by striving for holiness and integrity of life through a life of obedience. However, our obedience to God and His commandments come not from fear but from love. When Moses told the people to fear God, it was not so much out of fear but reverence and gratitude for the love that they had received. They should be inspired by the unique oneness of God, His works among them and His fidelity to the promises He made with their Fathers. We too should be inspired by God’s love in Christ Jesus who, as our High Priest, has shown us the way of sacrificial love even for sinners and His enemies. Loving God and neighbours entail sacrificing our life for them.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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