[00:00:05] Hello! My name is Sally Moriarty-Flask; welcome to From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible Study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, November 3, 2024, the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. This week's episode is entitled the Greatest Commands, and in these Readings, we'll ask ourselves whether we're willing to see the world with God's eyes of love? Or do we allow the divisions so prevalent in our world to obscure our eyes so that we don't really see and love others, or ourselves, as we should?
[00:00:46] As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following: Do we love God with our entire being - heart, soul, mind and strength? And do we really love others as we love ourselves?
[00:01:01] Let's begin in prayer. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:01:06] Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for the blessings you shower upon us with each new day. We thank you for the gift of your word and ask that you allow it to dwell deeply within our hearts and inform our every thought and action. Help each and every one of us see and love ourselves as you see and love us. And help us to see you - in all your goodness, your mercy, and your love - in every person we encounter and love every person as you do. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:01:43] Now that we've opened our hearts in prayer, let's listen to what God is telling us in the Scriptures.
[00:01:49] Our Gospel this week is from Mark 12: 28b-34.
[00:01:56] “One of the scribes came [to Jesus and] asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’ Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and 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.’ And the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that he is one, and that there is no other but he; and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ And when Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to ask him any questions.”
[00:02:57] Between last Sunday's Gospel passage and this one, the Church skips all of chapter 11 and half of chapter 12, so there's a lot of events in there that we miss. And the reason for that is because those events appear elsewhere during the Liturgical Year.
[00:03:14] Of course, Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, which is the beginning of chapter 11, is read on Palm Sunday - the Sunday before Easter - and then the remaining stories appear in the weekday Lectionary… they're proclaimed at weekday Masses and they won't be heard on Sundays, but they are part of what people hear when they attend Mass.
[00:03:36] When we catch up to this week's passage, we find Jesus teaching in the Jerusalem Temple. Now, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, but you can still see the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. And there's a large-scale model of the ancient city showing the size and location of the Temple as it would have been in biblical times, at the time of Jesus, and that's outside the Israel Museum. I will include pictures of both of those things on my Instagram this week. So, let's jump back to the beginning of this week's Gospel…
“One of the scribes”
…it starts. Scribes, remember, are scholars of the law, and typically when Jesus encounters one of the scribes, it is confrontational in nature. This encounter, however, is quite different.
“One of the scribes came [to Jesus and] asked him, ‘Which commandment is the first of all?’”
Questions posed by scribes are often intended to challenge Jesus and serve as an attempt to trip him up. However, this question actually seems to be one that is seeking a legitimate response, an attempt by the scribe to engage in a fruitful dialogue rather than to challenge Jesus. Notice, too, that Jesus does not respond to the scribe's question with this question of his own… another hint that something different is taking place here.
“Jesus answered, ‘The first is, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”’”
[00:05:23] Jesus is quoting a passage From Deuteronomy 6 called the Shema Israel (for the first words of the passage in Hebrew: Hear, O Israel) with which every faithful Jew would have been intimately familiar. This statement of faith encapsulates the first 3 Commandments of the Decalogue or the Ten Commandments, and Christians often refer to it as the Great or Greatest Commandment. These words are also part of our First Reading this week, so there'll be more about all of their meaning when we get there. But while I'm here, I want to point out just a couple of things…
[00:06:06] First, the Hebrew word love - that is used here: you shall love the Lord your God - means to belong to. So, you shall love the Lord your God… you shall BELONG TO the Lord your God. This isn't a teenage crush or an infatuation. This is a deliberate statement of choice, of commitment, of determination. It's a reminder that of all the peoples of the earth, God picked the Jews to be his Chosen People, to be the ones who belong to him and who in turn made the choice to belong to him in a covenant relationship. And that gives them a special place in all of salvation history.
[00:06:52] But we can't forget those words are also directed at us, right? Scripture is alive… it's living… it's God's word spoken to us. So, Jesus is also reminding us that we, too, have been chosen… we, too, belong to God. Which leads me to the second point I wanted to make about love… about this love… about how we belong to God. Jesus says that we love God - we belong to God - with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Now, the words here in Mark (and this is also found in Luke) differ a bit from the words in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy says heart, soul, and might, okay? Mark (and Luke) have Jesus adding mind to the list and changing might to strength. I think it's important for us to understand what Jesus’ listeners would have understood with those words, so bear with me.
The heart in biblical times was considered the seat of wisdom… of intellect and will… of the inner depth of a person - while in modern times we associate the heart with feelings rather than intellect; the soul would have represented the entire being, the principle of life in all its complexity - while our modern culture tends to minimize the soul to be simply an animating force that gives life to an individual, if the existence of a soul is recognized at all; the mind (that's the word that Jesus adds) represented a person's thoughts and reasoning; and strength meant committing every bit of energy to a cause - especially in zeal to fulfill God's will. Compare that with the word might from Deuteronomy, which in that context would have meant primarily wealth or physical power. What Jesus is really saying to the scribe - and to us - is that the choice of belonging… that commitment that we make to God (and God to us) is not insignificant, it's not trivial, and it's not undertaken lightly. It can, and should, go to the very depths of every single part of each one of us… of what makes each of us who we are. So, we have to ask ourselves, who do we love in this life? When we look around at other people in the world, do we see a neighbor whom we love? And when we look in the mirror, do we love the person we see?
[00:09:34] Jesus goes on to say to the scribe…
“The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Jesus is actually quoting here from Leviticus 19 and this short statement encapsulates the last 7 Commandments of the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments… those Commandments that govern how we interact with each other. And Jesus is the first to combine those two commands! Love God, love neighbor… which makes that tremendously significant! But Jesus’ definition of neighbor doesn't just mean those who live in the same community as we do, doesn't mean those who look like we do, those who talk like we do, those who worship like we do. No, no, no! Jesus’ use of the word neighbor is best explained in the Parable of the Good Samaritan… and it means everyone else.
[00:10:40] Not just the people we WANT to be our neighbor, but everyone else. Those who we like, certainly, but also those who aggravate us, those who challenge us, those we don't agree with or maybe don't like. Which makes that teaching ever so much more difficult.
[00:11:03] And we have to be mindful that our love of God is at times expressed most clearly through our love of others. We cannot love God apart from our neighbor, nor our neighbor apart from God. That is the real underpinning of Jesus’ linking of those two Commandments together. So, do we really love others as we love ourselves?
[00:11:33] When we look around at other people in the world, especially those with whom we disagree, do we see a neighbor?
[00:11:43] “And the scribe said to him, ‘You are right, Teacher;’”
Notice how the scribe addresses Jesus: Teacher…
“You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that he is one, and there is no other but he; and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength”
Note here that the scribe alters Jesus' words in his own response back. Jesus says: heart, soul, mind, and strength. The scribe says: heart, understanding, strength.
[00:12:17] There are a couple of different ways we can look at that… the first is that the scribe simply changes soul to understanding and leaves out mind. Okay, that's one possibility. The second way to look at it is that the scribe combines soul AND mind into a new word: understanding, to illustrate the effort that every one of God's people must be willing to undertake when we commit ourselves to God. I, personally, like the second version better… again, because it shows that the scribe is learning as he goes along and he's growing in his own faith and understanding… just as we should be doing. So, the scribe finishes out that line saying…
“and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
[00:13:14] I want to point out something here, that we - as Christians - wouldn't necessarily understand. When the scribe mentions “whole burnt offerings” he is referring to sacrificial offerings that were considered to be the most costly, the most generous, and the most selfless. This tells us that God considers love to be much more important than any ceremonial offerings. In fact, in Isaiah 1, in Amos 5 and in Jeremiah 7, we read that God rejects empty temple worship, considering it worthless unless it is accompanied by what? By concern for one's neighbors!
[00:14:07] What we have to take away from that is… that when we embody God's love for people, especially the poor and the marginalized, God sees that as more important, more necessary, than liturgical ritual alone.
[00:14:26] That also means that we as Catholics, as Christians, as Protestants, as whatever… Lutherans, whatever faith tradition to which we belong… we can't go to a Mass or a Sunday Service and then just ignore the message we've heard in the Gospel when we walk out the doors! We have to live it, not just hear it!
[00:14:51] So again, we have to ask ourselves that same question… who do we see as our neighbor? And if our answer isn't everyone, we need new glasses. Metaphorically, of course.
[00:15:10] “And when Jesus saw that he (the scribe) answered wisely”
[00:15:15] It's worth pointing out - while we're here - that the NAB (the New American Bible) translation uses the phrase “with understanding” rather than the word “wisely.” I think that's significant, given the scribe's use of the word “understanding” in his back and forth conversation with Jesus. So…
“[Jesus] said to him, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’”
Clearly, Jesus appreciates the effort the scribe has already made and acknowledges that with those words. But… notice he says not far! He doesn't say the scribe is there… but that he is not far from the kingdom. So, while Jesus is affirming the scribe's efforts on the one hand, on the other hand, he's also issuing a challenge. Don't stop! Keep working! Don't rest on your accomplishments! Keep striving!
[00:16:19] There's always room for improvement… for the scribe and for us. Remember, Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 5: “be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” So, no matter how far we think we've come… no matter how much progress we think we've made… until we can say - with conviction and absolute certainty - that we love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength - then we can't stop growing, learning, and deepening our faith.
[00:16:57] The Gospel this week finishes with the words…
“And after that no one dared to ask him any question.”
Well, certainly not! Jesus has just had a respectful, intelligent conversation with one of the scribes. And, if the young scribe is as clever as his interchange with Jesus suggests, then he is fully aware of the work that still lies ahead of him, just as we should be. Nobody needed to ask any further questions at that point, because Jesus’ challenge is clear. Keep working, keep striving. Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.
[00:17:40] So let's turn to our First Reading, which is from the book of Deuteronomy 6: 2-6.
[00:17:47] “[Moses spoke to the people, saying:] ‘Fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son's son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life; that your days may be prolonged. Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them; that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. ‘Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.’ These words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart.”
[00:18:39] Remember, Deuteronomy is broken up into four great addresses made by Moses to the Israelites before they enter the Promised Land. This is part of Moses’ second address, which actually goes from the end of chapter 4 through chapter 28 - clearly a very long speech - which essentially serves as a review of all of God's law. In fact, this passage that we just read occurs immediately after Moses has just restated the Ten Commandments, and that was in chapter 5. So, let's dive in…
[00:19:18] “[Moses spoke to the people, saying:] ‘Fear the LORD your God’”
The type of fear referenced here doesn't mean terror or panic… it means reverence, respect, wonder, or awe. After all, God is THE most powerful being, so be in awe of him at all times… respect him… wonder at his greatness, his power.
[00:19:47] “Fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son's son”
In other words, for all generations
“by keeping all his statutes and his commandments”
Moses is not just referring here to the original stone tablets of the Ten Commandments that he brought down from atop Mount Sinai… those form the basis of the Law, yes, but all of the commands of the Law are a gift, and that's what Moses is telling the people right there.
“keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life; that your days may be prolonged.”
[00:20:31] So - keep God's Law… okay, got it… and why? Well, Moses expounds on the blessings that come from fidelity to the Law as the speech goes on. In fact, he just listed the first one: long life - that your days may be prolonged… you will have a long life.
[00:20:53] “Hear, therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them; that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly”
So, there's the second blessing: children, descendants, future generations.
[00:21:10] And remember, this was a time when individual life after death was not a part of religious observance. The Israelites did not believe that each individual was resurrected after their individual life. So, this is how you lived on, by children, by descendants.
“as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Then we hear the last two blessings: place being one - in other words, the Promised Land… and prosperity being the other - in other words, flowing with milk and honey. So, these are the blessings: a long life, children, place, and prosperity. Next, we hear the commandment Jesus references in the Gospel…
[00:22:04] “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”
[00:22:15] As I mentioned, when I talked about the Gospel, those verses in this passage are called the Shema Israel, and they are the centerpiece of Jewish morning and evening prayer. Deuteronomy 6, Deuteronomy 11, and Numbers 15 all talk about the importance of the Shema Israel, how it is to be observed, how and where it is to be stored or displayed, how it is to be respected, and specify that it is to be taught to one of those blessings… to future generations.
[00:22:55] In particular, faithful Jews were to keep parchment scrolls of this commandment in special boxes called mezuzahs on the doorposts or lintels of every room in their house. Further, they were to place copies of them in special leather boxes called phylacteries and wear them close to their forehead and on their left arm. And if that seems oddly specific to us Christians, well, then I suggest you read Deuteronomy, because those very instructions are found in Deuteronomy 6: 8-9.
[00:23:32] In Jesus’ time, Jews would have had this Commandment affixed to every doorpost in their homes in a decorative box called a mezuzah, likely made of carved wood or tooled leather. Even modern Jews are required to keep a mezuzah on the doorpost of every room in their house according to the Law, although modern customs may simplify that to keeping it on the front door of the residence. In Jesus’ time, observant Jews would wear those small leather boxes containing a parchment scroll of the Commandment, and they would wear them affixed to a band around their forehead and at a leather strap wound around their arm.
[00:24:18] In case you're wondering, yes, even modern Jews wear phylacteries, sometimes called tefillin, but not always all the time. Orthodox Jews may wear them all the time, Reformed Jews may not, but they do still wear them. And again, my intent here is not necessarily to take a deep dive into the practices of modern Judaism because I don't live it on a daily basis. I have a lot of friends who are Jewish, but I don't live that on a daily basis.
[00:24:52] But because the Gospel and this passage from Deuteronomy are so closely linked - because they are both presented here - I felt it was important to shed a bit of light on this for us Christians who have little or no experience with those customs. I will also include some diagrams and drawings illustrating these things in my Instagram post this week.
[00:25:18] The Reading goes on…
“These words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart.”
[00:25:25] The NAB (New American Bible) translates that sentence as: “Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.” I think that translation is a bit more poetic. Our current passage ends with these words: “which I command you this day shall be upon your heart.” But the very next sentence is: “And you shall teach them to your children” meaning that the Israelites must not simply adhere to the commands of the Law of God, but must also pass them on to those blessings - those future generations - that were promised to them. If our faith is an important, vital, crucial part of our lives, then we need to instill that in our future generations.
[00:26:22] Our Psalm this week is Psalm 18 and the response is: “I love you, Lord, my strength.” And here are the verses:
“I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer. My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. The LORD lives; and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation. Great triumphs he gives to his king, and shows mercy to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.”
[00:27:13] This Psalm is a Royal Psalm, and the words are actually based on David's Song of Thanksgiving found in 2 Samuel 22. These verses, here in this Psalm, talk about the spiritual role of the king and his allegiance to God. And how is God depicted in this Psalm?
[00:27:39] So many beautiful images: “my strength” is one, right? Meaning power and might, as in the Shema Israel. “My rock” meaning permanence… “my fortress” meaning safety… “my deliverer” meaning freedom, right? “My shield” indicating protection… “my stronghold” meaning shelter.
[00:28:08] All beautiful images… all ways to depict God and why our dependence on him is so crucial. Because he can provide us all of those things… permanence, safety, freedom, protection, and shelter.
[00:28:27] That leads us to this week's Reading from the Letter to the Hebrews 7: 23-28.
“[Brothers and sisters:] The [Levitical] priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office; but [Jesus] holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues for ever. Consequently, he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself. Indeed, the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever.”
[00:30:04] That is the 5th of our 7 passages from the Letter to the Hebrews and we've jumped from chapter 5 to chapter 7.
[00:30:15] I think it bears repeating, as I have said before, that the author of Hebrews builds topic upon topic, expanding and connecting them to flesh out his theology as the letter goes on. So, think back to our passage last week, when the author introduced the person of Melchizedek and gave us a summation of the characteristics of a priest.
[00:30:44] Now the author is going to build even further on those two things. There's one other thing I want to mention before we jump - line by line - into this week's passage. There is a quote from earlier in chapter 7 (before this passage begins) that says, “For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.” I bring that up because what is another way to refer to the Law God gave his people and the relationship established by that law? Covenant, right?
[00:31:27] So with Jesus we get a new type of priesthood which necessitates a new Law… or a new Covenant… or a New Testament.
[00:31:43] So, let's get started…
[00:31:45] “The [Levitical] priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office;”
Meaning that their priesthood was temporal, transitory, perishable.
[00:32:02] “but [Jesus] holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues for ever.”
Jesus is divine… he is eternal… he is the Logos - the Word spoken by God. And his priesthood is eternal, permanent, and unperishable.
[00:32:26] “Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
Remember from last week, that the role of a mediator is the 1st characteristic of a priest described in chapter 5.
[00:32:49] “For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest”
Meaning, of course, Jesus. And then the author identifies some qualities: Jesus, who is…
“holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens.”
[00:33:18] All those qualities identify the heavenly, eternal nature of Jesus’ priesthood.
[00:33:29] “He has no need, like those high priests”
The Levitical priests
“to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people;”
[00:33:42] Those sacrifices were offered according to the Old Covenant.
[00:33:49] “he (Jesus) did this once for all”
[00:33:53] This highlights the 2nd characteristic of a priest we heard from last week: solidarity with mankind - which was achieved through the Incarnation - through Jesus’ (as St. Paul says) emptying of himself to become human. So…
“he (Jesus) did this once for all when he offered up himself.”
Jesus: the one, perfect sacrifice - both victim and priest - both the one who is offered and the one who is offering the sacrifice.
[00:34:37] “Indeed, the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests”
So, let's keep the following three points about the Levitical priesthood - from this phrase - as we go forward: (1) the Law, (2) appoints men, in their (3) weakness. What does the author then have to say about Christ's priesthood?
[00:34:59] “but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever.”
Those words - again - explain the eternal character of Christ's priesthood through three additional points (1) later than the Law, (2) appoints a Son, and (3) perfect. So, let's put these points side by side.
[00:35:26] First, the Law establishes the Levitical priesthood… whereas Jesus’ divine priesthood is later than the Law and it is established through the word of THE oath… not an oath, not just any oath, but THE oath.
[00:35:45] Second, the Law appoints men… Jesus is the Son, appointed by God the Father. And then finally, the Levitical priests serve in their weakness… whereas Jesus serves in his perfection.
[00:36:03] Let's think back to the Gospel and Jesus’ encounter with the scribe. Specifically, his challenge to the scribe, unspoken but clearly present… you're on the right track, but don't stop! Keep working… keep improving… keep challenging yourself as I have challenged you…
[00:36:29] Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.
[00:36:34] That means we need to ask ourselves: who do we really love? And if our first answer isn't God, how are we working to change that? If we love God first, everything else falls in its appropriate place and the love that we get from God is passed on in love of others.
[00:37:01] The next question we have to ask ourselves is: who do we see and love as our neighbor?
[00:37:11] And if that answer isn't everyone, how are we working to change that? And really, that's Jesus’ challenge to us today - and every day. Keep working! Keep striving for perfection!
[00:37:32] The Kingdom is waiting for us in this world - and in the next - if we are willing to see the world with God's eyes of love and to belong to him with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength.
[00:37:52] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at
[email protected]
Thank you for listening and until next we meet, may God shower His blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain and may he hold you, safe and secure, in the palm of his hand.
From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions.
The content of the show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask.
Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with permission of the composer. All rights reserved.
[00:38:33] Information regarding references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request.
Thank you for listening and God Bless
