In this Sunday’s readings we reflect on the commandments or the law of God. In the Gospel we hear how a scribe – who was a respected leader in the Jewish community, tests Jesus by putting this question to him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replies with the words of the great commandment “Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one 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…you must love your neighbour as yourself” – emphasising that there is no more significant commandment. The scribe is impressed with this teaching of Jesus on the law, and further adds that to love in this way is greater that any sacrifice. Jesus endorses the wisdom of the scribe,“You are not far from the kingdom of God” and we are told that his authority was accepted “no one dared to question him any more”.
The teaching of Jesus as addressed to the whole community of Israel, mirrors the teaching of Moses on the Commandments of God in the first reading: “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God is the one Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength. Let these words I urge on you today be written on your heart”. Moses tells the people they will have a long life and will prosper and increase in a “land where milk and honey flow” if they keep God’s laws.
In teaching the great commandment of love, Jesus assures us that by living in union with God and one another, we can fully live out our Christian vocation in happiness and joy. We are renewed in God’s love each time we receive Holy Communion, which makes us united with Christ but also strengthens our relationship with each other. It is Christ who unites us to God the Father and God – who created us in his image and likeness, loves us unconditionally and invites us to remain in his love.
As Pope Benedict said:-
To have lasting joy we need to live in love and truth. We need to live in God. God wants us to be happy. That is why he gave us specific directions for the journey of life: the commandments. If we observe them, we will find the path to life and happiness. At first glance, they might seem to be a list of prohibitions and an obstacle to our freedom. But if we study them more closely, we see in the light of Christ’s message that the commandments are a set of essential and valuable rules leading to a happy life in accordance with God’s plan.
(Pope Benedict XVI, 15 March 2012)
