Word to the Wise
Thursday, June 6, 2024 - Thursday in the 9th Week in Ordinary Time
[2 Tim 2:8-15 and Mark 12:28b-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." [Mark]
The scribe asked Jesus a question that was commonly debated amongst the scribes and Pharisees. Given 613 precepts in the Mosaic Law, how can one know which are more important than others? Jesus replied with a quote from Leviticus and one from Deuteronomy. Obviously Jesus gave the response the scribe wanted because he in turn said, "Well said, Teacher!" But the scribe also added that those two commandments are "worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." Jesus responded very positively to the scribe's priorities. Do we share these priorities?
I have heard anxious parishioners speak to the conflict they experience when they have had to choose between going to Mass on Sunday and staying home to take care of a sick child, spouse or parent! I assure them that staying home for that reason is no moral failure. Wouldn't they want the same kind of care? In other words, would they care for the sick loved one in the same way they would want that person (or someone else) to care for them? How much do we love ourselves? And can we truly love God if we do not love our neighbor as ourselves?
Yes, one can be so focused on oneself that love of God becomes impossible. But taking care of our physical, emotional and spiritual health and the one body that God has given to us is the best way to equip ourselves for love of neighbor, as long as we remember that motivation and act in accord with it.
The passage from the Gospel According to Mark tells us, And when Jesus saw that he [the scribe] answered with understanding, he said to him, " You are not far from the Kingdom of God." How close are we? AMEN