Gospel Reflection For The 8th day of March in the year of Our Lord, 2024
Gospel
Mark 12:28-34
28 And there came one of the scribes that had heard them reasoning together, and seeing that he had answered them well, asked him which was the first commandment of all. 29 And Jesus answered him: The first commandment of all is, Hear, O Israel: the Lord thy God is one God. 30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength. This is the first commandment.
31 And the second is like to it: Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is no other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said to him: Well, Master, thou hast said in truth, that there is one God, and there is no other besides him. 33 And that he should be loved with the whole heart, and with the whole understanding, and with the whole soul, and with the whole strength; and to love one's neighbour as one's self, is a greater thing than all holocausts and sacrifices. 34 And Jesus seeing that he had answered wisely, said to him: Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
We may wonder why after Jesus spoke these words that the scribe acknowledged were right and true, that “no one dared ask Him any more questions.” They knew that, at the very least, an incredibly wise man was in their midst. Some believed Him to be the Messiah and most at least believed Him to be a prophet. Why would these scholars of the Law and devoutly religious Jews not clamor to hear His every word and to ask Him every question?
The answer is that Jesus was not only a great threat to their authority but to their identity. These were people who prided themselves on their knowledge and by scrupulously following the letter of the Torah Law. They were held in high places of honor and respected by all. Their livings were provided for by the people. Yet, here was this Jesus, an uneducated man from a poor family and a rural village confounding their greatest scholars and wisest men. Further, this Jesus constantly broke and openly defied the Law they so revered. And, when asked about the Law, He cut to the heart of the matter with profound words that no one could challenge. He did not say they must wash their hands, observe the Sabbath or abide by the strict dietary code. No, He said simply, that we must love God and our neighbor with all heart, soul, mind and strength.
You see, Jesus decoded the Law of Moses with these simple words. All of the complexity of the Torah had as its goal to instill these simple truths in its adherents. Yet, those who knew the Law best and followed it most closely understood it least. The poor and most miserable sinners flocked to our Lord and immediately understood His compassion and accepted His forgiveness. The religious officials could not. They could not accept that Jesus could forgive sins, considering it blasphemy. They could not accept that those who violated the Law could even be forgiven without going through all of the sacrifice and ceremony demanded in their Law. Their hearts were hardened because all they could not conceive of the love of God nor recognize Him. They dared not question Him, because to believe in Him and His teachings was to forgo their Law and lose their authority. Jesus was putting them out of their jobs and their places of honor.
Today, this is all the more true for us. We have laws that are in direct opposition to Catholic teaching and the words of the Bible. Our law says that marriage and divorce are civil matters, not based on a sacrament, and may be governed by the state – divorce is just fine according to our law. We have laws that make the killing of infants legal. We have laws that normalize homosexuality, pornography and all manner of immorality. Our laws often punish the just and reward the evil. To accept the moral teachings of the Church would put most of our politicians, lawyers, judges and bureaucrats out of work… and many of them call themselves Catholic while embracing such immorality just as the Jews who rejected Jesus considered themselves more moral and holy than God! Our Catholic presidents (all two of them) have even claimed that while Catholicism is their religion, they respect the laws of our nation over the teachings of the Church… and both were thoroughly corrupt in their personal lives.
Just like the Jewish leaders in Jesus’ time, our leaders do not want to hear anything that God or His Church says that disagrees with them. They would gladly crucify anyone who challenges their authority. Many of our religious leaders placate them by courting their favor and avoiding the discussion of moral and religious truths. Truly, ‘There is nothing new under the sun.”
A Daily Catholic Devotional Reflections on the Daily Mass readings January-June, 2024. may be purchased as a .pdf directly from me using this link https://southernappalachianherbs.blogspot.com/2023/12/a-daily-catholic-devotional-reflections.html or in paperback on Amazon amazon.com/dp/B0CPD1DC7Q
I am also giving the .pdf as a free Thank You gift to anyone who becomes a paid subscriber to The Uncensored Catholic newsletter.
Gospel passages are taken from the Douay Rheims Bible.