XXXI Sunday in Ordinary Time (B): Giving a heart to the law!

Giving a heart to the law!

“Listen, Israel!”
Mark 12:28-32

We have now been in Jerusalem for three days. Last Sunday, we walked the last stretch of road, ascending from Jericho in the company of the Twelve and the crowd of pilgrims. Among them was Bartimaeus, the blind man from Jericho whom Jesus had healed, a symbol of all of us.

The Lord spends the final days of his life between the Temple and Bethany, a village on the outskirts of the city. During the day, he remains in the Temple, where he teaches the people, who listen to him willingly (11:18). In the evening, he withdraws with his companions to Bethany, a guest among friends.

We are on the third day of his stay in the Holy City, the final destination of his ministry. This day is particularly intense and begins with a sign: the fig tree withered from the roots (11:20-26), symbolising a barren life and the power of prayer. In the Temple, Jesus confronts the religious leaders, who question his authority to teach in that place (11:27-33). To them, Jesus tells the parable of the murderous vine-growers (12:1-12). Jesus’ fate is now sealed: the authorities have decided to eliminate him and are only seeking the right opportunity and motive. Following this is a series of traps to put him in a difficult position: first about the tribute to Caesar (12:13-17) and then about the resurrection of the dead (12:18-27). This is the context of today’s Gospel passage.

Points for reflection

1. Lost in the maze of laws

“One of the scribes who had heard them debating, and seeing how well Jesus had answered, came forward and asked him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’”

According to Matthew and Luke, this doctor of the law also wanted to test Jesus (Matthew 22:35; Luke 10:25). What was the trap, in this case? For the common mentality of the time, the greatest commandment was the third in the Decalogue: the observance of the Sabbath, as God himself had observed it after the “work” of creation (Genesis 2:2). Jesus’ opponents thus expected him to answer in this way, so they could then accuse him: “Then why do you and your disciples not observe the Sabbath?”

However, for the evangelist Mark, the scribe’s question was sincere and relevant. With the intent of regulating all life according to God’s law, the rabbis had identified 613 precepts in the Torah (Pentateuch), in addition to the Ten Commandments: 365 negative (prohibitions, corresponding to the days of the solar year) and 248 positive (prescriptions, corresponding to the organs of the human body, according to the belief of the time). A genuine labyrinth! In such a tangle of laws, there was a need to discern what was truly essential.

2. Love is the law!

“Jesus replied: ‘The first is: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’”

Jesus does not quote any of the Ten Commandments, but he elevates himself from the legalistic plane to the level of love. He recalls the profession of faith of the “Shema Israel,” “Hear, O Israel” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, see first reading), the prayer that every Jew recites three times a day (morning, evening, and before going to bed).

“The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

To the “first” commandment, Jesus adds a “second” taken from Leviticus 19:18. This combination of Torah texts is original and unique to Jesus.

What is the relationship between the two commandments? St. Augustine comments: “The love of God is the first commanded; the love of neighbour is the first to be practised.” In the New Testament, this synthesis of the law in two commandments is not mentioned elsewhere and seems to lean towards love of neighbour: “This I command you: love one another” (Jn 15:17). For St. Paul, “the whole law is fulfilled in one commandment: love your neighbour as yourself” (Gal 5:14) and “the full fulfilment of the law is love” (Rom 13:10). Love for one’s brother is the mirror and proof of love for God. Anyone who says they love God but does not love their brother is a liar (1 Jn 4:20-21). The “two loves” are, in fact, inseparable.

3. “You shall love!”: giving a heart to the law

In both texts cited by Jesus, the key word is the imperative “You shall love!” Love thus becomes the key to the Law. Pagan gods desired submissive worshippers, slaves; the God of Jesus Christ, however, desires free children, capable of love. The verb “to love” (ahav in Hebrew) appears in the Old Testament 248 times (Fernando Armellini). This is a symbolic number, as it corresponds to the number of positive precepts (things to be done) according to rabbinic tradition. One might say that the only thing to do always (365 days a year!) is to love.

The Torah, springing from the heart of God, had lost its original spirit and, rather than serving humanity, had become a burdensome weight. Jesus came to restore everything human to the heart. Now, even at the heart of the Law, we can rediscover His Heart!

Fr. Manuel João Pereira Correia, mccj

“Love the Lord your God”
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 12:28b-34

One day one of the scribes came to Jesus asking him which was the first commandment of the law and Jesus answered, citing the words of the law: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is one God. And you shall love the Lord your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind, and with your whole strength.” But Jesus immediately added that there is a second commandment similar to this, and it is to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

If we are to understand the meaning of the scribe’s question and Jesus’ response, we need to bear in mind the following. In the Judaism of Jesus’ time there were two opposite tendencies.

On the one hand there was a tendency to endlessly multiply the commandments and precepts of the law, creating norms and obligations for every minimal detail of life. On the other hand there was the desire to look underneath this suffocating congeries of norms to find those things that really count for God, the spirit of all the commandments.

The scribe’s question and Jesus’ response are situated in this approach to the essentials of the law, in this desire not to get lost in the thousand other secondary precepts. It is precisely this lesson about method that above all we must learn from today’s gospel. There are things in life that are important but not urgent (in the sense that nothing will happen if we let them slide); and vice versa, there are things that are urgent but not important. The danger is that we will systematically sacrifice the important things to pursue those that are urgent but often secondary.

How do we avoid this danger? A story will help us understand how. One day an old professor was asked to speak as an expert to some large North American corporations on personal time management. He decided to try an experiment. Standing before a group ready to take notes, he pulled out from under the table a large, empty glass vase. He placed a dozen tennis-ball-size rocks in the vase until it was full. When he was not able to add more rocks he asked those present: “Does the vase seem full to you?” and they all answered “Yes!” He waited a moment and then asked: “Are you sure?”

He again bent down and pulled a box full of pebbles from under the table and carefully poured the pebbles into the vase, moving the vase a little so that the pebbles could reach the rocks at the very bottom. He asked: “Is the vase full this time?”

His audience, having become more prudent, began to understand and said: “Perhaps not yet.” “Very good!” the old professor replied. Again he bent down and this time picked up a bag of sand and poured it into the vase with care. The sand filled all the spaces between the rocks and the pebbles.

He then asked again: “Is the vase full now?” And they all answered without hesitation: “No!” “Indeed,” the old professor said and, as they expected, took the pitcher of water from the table and poured it into the vase up to the brim.

At this point he looked up at his audience and asked: “What great truth does this experiment show us?” The bravest of the group, reflecting on the theme of the course — time management — replied: “This shows us that even when our schedule is full, with a little effort we can always add some other task, some other thing to do.”

“No,” the professor answered, “It’s not that. The experiment shows us something else. If you don’t put the big rocks in the vase first, then you will never be able to put them in afterward.”

There was a moment of silence and everyone took in the evidence for this affirmation.

The professor continued: “What are the big rocks, the priorities, in your life? Health? Family? Friends? Defending a cause? Accomplishing something that is close to your heart?

“The important thing is to put these big rocks on your agenda first. If you give priority to a thousand other little things — the pebbles, the sand — your life will be filled with meaninglessness and you will never find time to dedicate yourself to the truly important things.

“So, never forget to pose this question to yourself: ‘What are the important things in my life?’ Put these things at the head of your agenda.”

Then, with a friendly gesture the old professor bid farewell to his audience and left the room.

To the “big rocks” mentioned by the professor — health, family, friends — we need to add two others, which are the biggest of all, the two greatest commandments: love God and your neighbor.

Truly, loving God, more than a commandment, is a privilege, a concession. If one day we find him, we will not cease to thank God for commanding us to love him and we will not desire to do anything else but cultivate this love.