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Gospel Reading for November 03, 2024 – Mark 12: 28b-34
ENOUGH
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.
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When we come to think of it, the first commandment is ENOUGH. How can we say that we love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength, if we cannot love our neighbor as we love ourselves? God created our neighbor. God gave the neighbor to us, and us to the neighbor. That time, people were not aware of the importance of Ecology, so perhaps, there would have been an additional commandment of love for all things in our environment created by God, because all these are important for our survival.
Jesus’ approval of the statement of the scribe: “worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices” tells us that what will give meaning to our offerings, to our attendance of the Eucharistic Celebrations, and all other church celebrations and gatherings, will be our love for God above everything. Otherwise, they will be mere rituals and meaningless sacrifices. It is like persons who keep saying “I’m sorry” and “Thank you” but do not show remorse and gratitude in their subsequent actions.
Oh, if only 95% of peoples around the world practice LOVE in its purest and divine sense, it probably would solve 99% of our problems in the world!
Let us reflect on this beautiful song written by Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham, LOVE OF GOD –
It’s so good I almost can’t believe it;
Far beyond what hearts could ever dream;
The God who set the galaxies in motion;
Would descend to give His life for me.
For what could make perfection
bleed for sinners;
What leads a King to pay so great a cost;
All my life, my heart will sing the answer:
Only the love of God!
Singing oh, how great is the love of God;
He paid our debt on that rugged cross;
For all our days, we will sing
our Savior’s praise;
How great is the love of God!
It’s so kind, it leads us to repentance;
And it’s so bright, the darkness has to flee;
Hallelujah, it cleared my guilty sentence’
For I was bound but now I stand redeemed.
For what could break the chains of any prison?
What force could rob the power from the grave?
What would trade my rags for heaven’s riches?
Only the love of God!
Singing oh, how great is the love of God;
He paid our debt on that rugged cross;
For all our days, we will sing
our Savior’s praise;
How great is the love of God!
Though I try, my mind can’t comprehend it;
It’s so high, too marvelous for words;
I could sing a million songs about it;
And barely scratch the surface of Your worth;
This all my life, the banner I’ll be waving;
My anthem cry no matter what may come;
And when I rise to walk the streets of heaven;
I’ll still be singing this song
for everything that You’ve done;
How great the love of God!
Singing oh, how great is the love of God;
He paid our debt on that rugged cross;
For all our days, we will sing
our Savior’s praise;
How great is the love of God!
How great is the love of God!
Thank you, Jesus!
