Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B November 4, 2018

First Reading
Deuteronomy 6:2-6
Moses teaches the people to love and worship God alone.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 18:2-3,3-4,47,51
A prayer of praise to God our strength

Second Reading
Hebrews 7:23-28
Jesus intercedes for us as our eternal high priest.

Gospel Reading
Mark 12:28b-34
Jesus is questioned by a scribe about the greatest commandment.

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall 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 shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these."
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
'He is One and there is no other than he.'
And 'to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself'
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
"You are not far from the kingdom of God."
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.


Background on the Gospel Reading

As we continue to read from Mark's Gospel, our Lectionary skips a chapter
that helps set the context for today's reading. If we were to read the
sections skipped (chapter 11 and part of chapter 12), we would hear about
Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, his cleansing of the Temple, and the
questioning of Jesus' authority by the chief priests, scribes, and elders.
The context, therefore, for this Gospel is Jesus' growing exposure before
the Jewish authorities. Jesus is being questioned and tested by the Jewish
authorities, yet the scribe who addresses Jesus in today's Gospel seems to
be an admirer; he is not testing Jesus.

The question posed in today's Gospel requires Jesus to interpret the Law
of Moses. The Mosaic Law consists of the Ten Commandments and many
additional commandments, numbering into the hundreds. For a devout Jew,
adherence to the Mosaic Law is an expression of faithfulness to God's
covenant with Israel. The ranking of these commandments was regularly
debated among the teachers of the Law.

Jesus was not the only Jewish religious teacher to connect these two
commandments, love of God and love of neighbor. Both of these commandments
were central elements of the religious tradition that Jesus learned from
his Jewish community. Indeed, these commandments continue to be central
aspects of contemporary Jewish religious understanding. Jesus' response to
his questioners proposed an integral connection between these two aspects
of the Jewish Law. Love of God finds its expression in our love for our
neighbor. Many believe, however, that this connection was heard in a new
and fresh way when spoken by Jesus.

The scribe who questions Jesus in today's Gospel engages in a positive
dialogue with Jesus. He agrees with Jesus' teaching that the commandments
to love God and love neighbor stand above the commandment to offer worship
and sacrifice in the Temple. With this dialogue, Jesus appears to close
the debate with the Jewish authorities. Mark reports that no one dared to
question Jesus further.


Family Connection
As Christians, our moral behavior is guided by the two-part commandment
taught by Jesus in today's Gospel: love God and love your neighbor as
yourself. Many of us learned to use this framework as an examination of
conscience. By examining our lives through the lens of these commandments,
we have learned that the challenge of these commandments is not in our
desire to follow them but in our capacity to consistently honor these
commandments in our daily lives.

For one week, identify and collect news reports of how Christians show
their love for God by loving and serving their neighbor. Clip these news
items and share what you have heard when you gather as a family. Read
together today's Gospel, Mark 12:28b-34. Talk about ways in which your
family might contribute to the examples of Christian service you found.
Choose one of these actions to do together as a family. Conclude in prayer
together asking God to help us show love to our family members and
friends. Pray together the Act of Love.


Sources: Loyola Press; Sunday Readings