Word to the Wise
Friday, March 4, 2016 - 3rd Week of Lent - Fri
[Hos 14:2-10 and Mark 12:28b-34]FRIDAY, MARCH 4, 2016 FRIDAY IN THE THIRD WEEK OF LENT [Hosea 14:2-10 and Mark 12:28-34] "And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." The Mosaic Law contained 613 identified precepts. It is understandable that a pious Jew would be concerned about a way to live all of these with some kind of integrity and coherence. There were plenty of debates over how to do this and to rank the precepts in importance. When the scribe came to Jesus, Jesus could see that in this case the "agenda" was not to trap but a genuine spiritual and moral concern. When the scribe agrees with Jesus' response to the question, "Which is the first of all the commandments?", Jesus tells him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." Notice that Jesus speaks of two of the commandments as being "first." Love of God and love of neighbor are the prism through which everything else is to be seen. If we Catholics are honest, we should admit that our very large Church has many, many rules that govern all aspects of our Faith's expression. There are times when a sense of perspective is lost and rules concerning liturgical life take on the aspect of moral law, or rules regarding fasting become matters of conscience. These are just two examples. We have more than 613 of these - just look at the Code of Canon Law or the paragraphs of the Catechism. I am not at all denying the necessity of much of them, but I do go back to this encounter between Jesus and the scribe. If I put the love of God and neighbor first, I'll be close to the Kingdom of God. I'll also be in a better position to understand how to live faith with integrity and compassion. AMEN
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