March 4, 2016
Long before
the clichéd Whitney Houston song ever gripped our souls and taught us to
believe that the children are our future, Jesus was teaching us well about the
greatest love(s) of all. So before you bust out with your leg warmers, shoulder
pads, big hair, and Miami Vice jackets to sing along, let’s see what Jesus has
to say in today’s gospel. Then by all means, grab your hairbrush and sing into
it like you’ve never sung before because you know that’s what you want to do!!
The teachers
of the law were fascinated with Jesus’ knowledge of the law similar to the way
we might be with a 4 year old that knows all the names of the presidents of the
United States in order. They were entertained by asking him questions because
he always had the right answer, but also a new way of looking at things that
made them dig just a little deeper. I know that every good teacher I have had engages
me to see things in a new way and Jesus is the very best. Using a superlative
like “greatest” generally implies the number one. There can only be one best,
one greatest, one most, however, Jesus’ Trinitarian nature gives us a trinity
to also live by today and he gives it in a specific order. 1. Love God with
everything you have: your mind, your will, your strength, your all, 2. Love
others…we cannot love others without loving God first and the way we love
others will be direct evidence of just exactly how we love God. Faith without
works is dead; loving your neighbor without loving God wholeheartedly is also
dead, and 3. It is only by loving God first, then others, that we can truly be
loved and love ourselves. There is the trinity: God – Others – Self.
When the
scribe acknowledged that Jesus’ answer was the right one, Jesus’ response to
him is the same for us, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” The gospel closes with an
interesting line that seems like a ancient times mic-drop, indicating that
Jesus had the final Word, and the final word is always LOVE, “And no one dared to ask him
any more questions.”
The Whitney
Houston song has it wrong. Learning to love yourself is not the greatest love
of all, but the 3rd person in the trinity of the greatest love of
all. So love well today in the order that will make your love not just great,
but the greatest: 1. God (wholeheartedly, undivided, and true), 2. Others
(wholeheartedly, undivided, and true), and 3. Yourself (wholeheartedly,
undivided, and true). Then you will be not far from the Kingdom of God. Have a
blessed day.
Reading 1 HOS 14:2-10
Thus says the LORD:
Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;
you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the LORD;
Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,
and receive what is good, that we may render
as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”
I will heal their defection, says the LORD,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade
and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine,
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
“I am like a verdant cypress tree”–
Because of me you bear fruit!
Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them.
Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;
you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the LORD;
Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,
and receive what is good, that we may render
as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”
I will heal their defection, says the LORD,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade
and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine,
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
“I am like a verdant cypress tree”–
Because of me you bear fruit!
Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them.
Responsorial Psalm PS 81:6C-8A, 8BC-9, 10-11AB, 14 AND 17
R. (see 11 and 9a) I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
An unfamiliar speech I hear:
“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you.”
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
“Unseen, I answered you in thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Hear, my people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, will you not hear me?”
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
“There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt.”
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
“If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
I would feed them with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
An unfamiliar speech I hear:
“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you.”
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
“Unseen, I answered you in thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Hear, my people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, will you not hear me?”
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
“There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt.”
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
“If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
I would feed them with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”
R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
Verse Before The Gospel MT 4:17
Repent, says the Lord;the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Gospel MK 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 neighbor 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 neighbor 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.
“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 neighbor 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 neighbor 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.
Here I go , rambling again! :-) Love is love and all 3 loves are equal, just as Jesus said God, himself and Us'ens are all one in the same. NO hierarchy, WE are all ONE. Just my humble opinion . :-) And I like that last few lines of Whitney's song:
ReplyDeleteAnd if, by chance, that special place
That you've been dreaming of
Leads you to a lonely place
Find your strength in love!
Pat, I agree, hence the trinity reference meaning 3 in 1 and all are equal. The "hierarchy" or "order" of things is a reminder that if we keep God at the top and in the center, all 3 will flourish at their greatest capacity!!! Find your strength in love. Amen. I love you, Pat.
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