Which is the first of all the commandments? This question, posed to Jesus by a scribe in today’s Gospel, has us thinking that this might be another “test” by a learned Jewish scholar. In fact, the Gospel of Matthew explicitly calls it such (Mt 22:35), and it appears within the context of several such tests by the Pharisees and scribes. But the Gospel we read today is Mark’s and his account of this exchange is much more collegial, and he does not call it a test.
Jesus answers the scribe with a Scripture verse that would have been familiar to any faithful Jewish person. It comes from the Book of Deuteronomy, and we heard it in the first reading: love God with all your heart, soul, and strength – your whole being. In that time of our salvation history, Moses was teaching God’s people how to live and prosper within the covenant.
The foundation for the covenant is love: God’s love. God loves his people and is working wonders to save them. He freed them from slavery and led them out of Egypt. He is caring for them as he leads them to the Promised Land.
God has proven his great love and fidelity for his people; he asks for their love and fidelity in return. If they take this to heart, and love God with all they’ve got, everything will be all right. It is for their own well-being, Moses tells them. All God wants to do is love them, care for them, and bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey. What they need to do is be open and cooperative and not turn their backs on God. They need to keep focused on loving God, fully and faithfully. The same is true for us: keep focused on loving God and letting him love us.
The second commandment Jesus offers is from Leviticus, another book of law given through Moses. God’s people are to love their neighbors as themselves. Again, this law is rooted in God’s love. God has treated his people with much love, mercy, and justice, and he expects them to treat one another the same way, cooperating with him in establishing peace and prosperity. This command is connected to the first, since when we love God fully and faithfully, we want to follow his ways, do as he does, and love like he loves.
In answering with these two commands, Jesus reinforces that God’s law is a law of love. It is not a weapon to condemn or instill fear and anxiety, but rather is intended for our well-being. It is both a prescription and a description: God loves and cares for us, and we are to love and care for one another. This is how Jesus teaches us to understand and use the law, and when we do, we come closer together to the kingdom of God’s love and peace, the foretaste of which we share in this Eucharist.
(Fr. Michał Pająk, OMI, Nov. 3, 2024)
