Friday of the Third Week on Lent
(Hosea
14:2-10; Mark 12:28-34)
The first element
of Jesus’ response to the scribe in today’s gospel is unremarkable. Every Jew of his time would recite the same
words daily: “’You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,…’” It is the first and foremost commandment, not
only for Jews but for the whole world.
The second element of Jesus’ answer, however, is worthy of note. Jesus is making an add-on to the first commandment.
Besides loving God, one must love one’s
neighbor.
A well-known
Peanuts cartoon shows Linus yelling to the wind, “I love mankind; it’s people I
can’t stand.” This posture would not fulfill
Jesus’ concept of love of neighbor. For Jesus,
“neighbor” includes all people – friends, associates, unknown humans, even enemies. They will be loved in different ways. Some are helped directly. Others are considered in a positive
light. Everyone can at least be included
in prayer.
As primary
as the first commandment is, we still sometimes forget to express our love for
God. In fact, we may allow our love for
God to be consumed in love of neighbor. If
this happens, we are likely to lose our love for both God and neighbor. We love God because He has graced us time
after time. We love our neighbors
because God has graced them too, just like us.
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