THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B

[cappie]

The commandments by which early members of the Jewish community lived were directions from God handed down to Moses about how to live in the world and in community. Jewish leaders added hundreds of more rules that stated the beliefs of the followers of God. When Jesus was asked by members of his contemporary community, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus redirects part of his answer to the words contained in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. He says, “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; 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.” And then Jesus adds the second instruction: “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” That was a very straightforward and familiar statement.

This was a part of the daily practice of those who were listening to Jesus. Many members of the Jewish community prayed a daily prayer called the Shema, which incorporates the first statement that Jesus quoted to them. That tradition continues to this day.

The commandment that Jesus gives to the scribe seems pretty simple. He tells him that the most important rule is that they must love God above all things and with every fibre of their beings.  

Today, the struggle to live fully into these commandments is apparent throughout our society. If loving God with all your heart, soul, and mind were easy, there would be no room for doubt when difficulties would arise. Yet, there are times for many when doubts arise – especially when prayers are not answered as quickly as one would want or in the way one would hope. When loved ones die unexpectedly, many will express a crisis of faith. “If there is a God,” people will say, “why did God allow this to happen to me?”  It is common for regular churchgoers to question the existence of God at particularly challenging points in life.

 However, there is more to this assignment than loving God with all your being. Jesus takes it a step further and says, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” In the Gospel of Mark, the scribe agrees with Jesus and understands the requirements. Jesus’ admonition to the Pharisees was that love for your neighbour is wrapped tightly in care, compassion, and mercy.

The Covid pandemic and associated vaccinations have created great tension in countries. It has pitted geographical neighbour against neighbour and relatives against each other. There are thousands of news accounts of people fighting in restaurants and in other public spaces  over mask-wearing and vaccinations. What does it mean to love your neighbour as yourself? What would Jesus say at this moment? Perhaps being less judgmental about us versus them is a place to begin. Instead of physical altercations, what would it look like to embrace your neighbour so that a dialogue could commence instead of accusation

 Christians are called to do all that we can to love everyone, not just those who agree with us. Love means striving for unity and moving towards becoming Beloved Community.

The same holds true for many of the controversies of the world today. Think of the great conversational shift that could occur if love took the lead.

When we love God completely, we are bound to find ways to answer the call to love our neighbours also. We will be accepting of people who look different from us and those whose lifestyles are not the same. Resistance to courageous conversations that could lead to greater understanding of differing opinions prevents us from loving each other in the ways God describes.

More importantly, there is liberation in a willingness to trust God enough to believe that neighbours are the same as we are. They have the same dreams and desires to love the Lord and to follow God as faithful disciples. They, too, have picked up their crosses and have made the commitment to follow Jesus. What greater love is there? The Good News from Jesus is that this kind of love is achievable. It is possible to love others so much that polarization ends, and healing begins.

Let us tell the Lord we love Him, as we do in today’s Psalm. And let us take His Word to heart, that we might prosper and have life eternal in His kingdom, the heavenly homeland