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In today's story from Mark's
gospel a scribe asks Jesus what is the greatest of the commandments.
This may have been a test of Jesus' orthodoxy or perhaps the man
genuinely wanted to know. For his part Jesus responded with the opening
verses of the daily Shema' prayer of Orthodox Jewry. "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". This prayer was taken from the Old Testament Books of
Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21; and Numbers 15:37-41.
The second commandment Jesus took from the Book of Leviticus 19:18 it
is: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater
commandment than these." The scribe showed understanding of Jesus'
answer and the Lord told him that he was not far from the kingdom of
God. We might ask ourselves, how far are we from God's kingdom?
Old timers remember the first grade catechism questions. Q. Who made
you? A. God made me. Q. Why did God make you? A. To know him, to love
him, and to serve him in this world and to be happy with him forever in
the next. Do people today have as clear an understanding of our origin
and destiny? Do you believe that God made you? It is most important that
we return with conviction to these basic suppositions of our faith.
This is what Jesus was saying to the scribe in today's lesson.
We have many concerns in our daily life but we must never forget what
this life itself is all about. It is not just about making a living. It
is not just about raising the kids. It is about saving my eternal soul
by entering into a life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ in his
Church.
Hear, O people of the United States, 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. We were not
created just to master the world of things. Yes we have that power, but
we were created for something far more important. We were created to be
the vessels of divinity, to contain the very life of the Trinity,
sanctifying grace. In the sacrament of Baptism your soul was emptied of
sin, actual or original, and you became a suitable vessel for God's
grace. As you grew in knowledge and love of the Trinity your ability to
contain its divine life increased. You became more perfectly conformed
to Christ's image as you experienced his touch in the other sacraments
and in numerous encounters with Christ in his word and in other people.
If you want this life giving relationship to grow, then you must make
room for God and for Christ in your life. It won't happen by accident.
If your soul is full of sin and your heart fixed only on the things of
this world, there is no room for God in your life.
When you think about it we are not all that far from God's kingdom.
Jesus showed us where it is and how to get there. We just have to make
up our minds that it is where we want to go.
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