The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
And the love of God
And the communion of The Holy Spirit
Be with you all
The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
And the love of God
And the communion of The Holy Spirit
Be with you all
Which is the greatest commandment?
As we continue to read from Mark’s gospel, our Lectionary skips a chapter that helps set the context for our gospel passage today. The skipped section speaks about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, his cleansing of the Temple, and the questioning of Jesus’ authority by the chief priests, scribes, and elders. The context of our gospel reading is Jesus’ growing exposure before the Jewish authorities. Jesus is being questioned and tested by the Jewish authorities, yet the scribe who addresses Jesus in today’s gospel passage seem to be an admirer; he is not testing Jesus.
The question asked in today’s gospel reading requires Jesus to interpret the Law of Moses. The Mosaic Law consists of the Ten commandments and many additional commandments, numbering many hundreds. For a devout Jew, adherence to the Mosaic law is an expression of faithfulness to God’s covenant with Israel.
Jesus was not the only Jewish religious teacher to connect these two commandments, love of God and love of neighbour. Both of these commandments were central points of the religious tradition that Jesus learned from his Jewish community. These commandments continue to be central elements of contemporary Jewish religious understanding. Jesus’ response to his questioners proposed an integral connection between these two aspects of the Jewish Law. Love of God finds its expression in our love for our neighbour.
The scribe who questioned Jesus in our gospel passage today engaged in a positive dialogue with Jesus. He agreed with Jesus’ teaching that the commandments to love God and love neighbour stand above the commandments to offer worship and sacrifice in the temple. (do we agree with the scribe?) With this dialogue, Jesus appears to close the debate with the Jewish authorities as no one dared to question Jesus further.
God bless you all. Fr. Henry
In July, 350 pilgrims accompanied Bishop Alan on pilgrimage to Lourdes. They were supported by the Brentwood Catholic Youth Service. This is always a homecoming for the Diocese of Brentwood as Our Lady of Lourdes is our patroness.
Pope Francis prays for peace in the world, condemning the violent attacks on innocent people in Gaza and expressing closeness to victims of a terror attack in Chad and of flooding in Spain.
Lebanese authorities on Thursday express hope that a possible ceasefire with Israel could be announced shortly as senior US diplomats travel to the region to push for truces in Lebanon and Gaza.
