Is it a Choice?

Scripture/Bible:  And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?" 29 Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 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.' 31 The second is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 32 And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that he is one, and there is no other but he; 33 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." 34 And when Jesus saw that he 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 question. Mark 12:28-34

Reflection: All are equal before the law and each one irrespective of power and position has to stand before the God of the universe on the last day to be judged for what they have done.

Every law is important and as the scriptures says; “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” Jas 2:10 “A man who has violated the Law of Moses dies without mercy” Heb 10:28 But are all laws equal?

The Laws are ordered according their degree of importance, in a hierarchical order and this aspect comes across strongly in the Gospel Text above.  The Jews knew which and what commandments were more important and significant. 

In our culture where pluralism is freely promoted by many and all section of people both in the church and outside, the commandment should once again speak to us:  “The Lord our God, the Lord is one” and further the call is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.”

If anyone finds Scripture too complicated to understand and all the books of the Bible too much to imbibe, then they cannot be without excuse if they don’t reflect and put into practice these two minimal and basic commandments of God; to love God and neighbor. 

This is not a buffet meal where you pick and choose but a small family meal where the limited numbers of dishes are set forth, only two to be precise.

 To avoid this basic meal or to pick and chose even between the two is to choose to be undernourished and suicidal.

Often the easy step taken in following these two injunctions is to choose the one over the other and thus one normally seeks to follow the injunction of love of the neighbor.  In the bargain even in visibly loving the neighbor one in reality only loves oneself more than the neighbor. God help!

Prayer:  Father, Help me to understand what it means to love you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength so that I may be a better neighbor.

DD = Dedicated Discipleship:  Come grow in the Lord with us