Daily Word Of God
Mark 12:28b-34
One of the scribes put a question to Jesus, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one, only Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’
The scribe said to him, ‘Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true, that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.’
Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, ‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And after that no one dared to question him anymore.
Today's Pointers on God's Word
As you read the passage what words, phases or meanings caught your attention?
- In today’s Gospel Jesus identifies the greatest commandments: Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbour as ourselves.
- True love of God is beyond lip service and fulfilling Sunday obligations. We are called to show our love in concrete deeds of love to all peoples. Can we also see Jesus in those who wrong us, malign us, oppose us or ignore us?
- Pray for inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit to be God’s compassion and justice to the downtrodden and the forgotten; this includes our aged relative in our home who needs our care and attention.