Today, 17th of February, we celebrate
The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order
First Reading: Hosea 14:2-10
We will not say to the work of our hands: our god.
Thus says the Lord:
Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God;
you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the Lord;
Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,
and receive what is good, that we may render
as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”
I will heal their defection, says the Lord,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like the Lebanoncedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade
and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine,
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
“I am like a verdant cypress tree”–
Because of me you bear fruit!
Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the Lord,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14 and 17
R./ I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
An unfamiliar speech I hear:
“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;
his hands were freed from the basket.
In distress you called, and I rescued you.”
R./ I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
“Unseen, I answered you in thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Hear, my people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, will you not hear me?”
R./ I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
“There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the Lord, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt.”
R./ I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
“If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
I would feed them with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”
R./ I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.
Gospel Reading: Mark 12:28-34
The Lord our God is one Lord, and you shall love the Lord your God.
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.
Listen to him!
Today’s text presents Jesus in the temple, where he was asked by a scribe a theological question: “What is the most important commandment?” The scribes had discovered 613 commandments in the Torah, and the question was: Of these 613, which one is the most important?
Many teachers maintained that the most important of the commandments was the observance of the Sabbath because God himself observed this, as he rested on the seventh day after six days of creation. But Jesus had disagreements with the Pharisees regarding the Law of the Sabbath.
Contrary to what the scribe expected, Jesus cites the creed of Israel, which is given in the Book of Deuteronomy, Chapter 6: “Hear, O Israel!” Jesus gives a new way of understanding our relationship with God, where the first command of the Lord is “Hear, O Israel” – ie., “Listen, O chosen people of God”. We are God’s chosen people and must listen to God’s Word and allow it to transform us. Hear O Israel, Adonai is our one God … if you listen to him, you will keep his word.”
“Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your life, with all your strength and with all your mind.” Our entire life project has no other objective than to fulfill the mission entrusted to us on earth – to do the projects of God. And we do not do this because of any compulsion but rather out of the love of God, who has designed our life.
The Pharisees had asked for the most important commandment, but Jesus gave us two commandments: “To Listen” and “to love”. Then he teaches us that the love of God is not possible without loving our neighbor.
According to Luke’s version of this passage, there is only one commandment: ‘Love God and love your neighbor as yourself’. In the Gospel of John, in chapter 15, Jesus says: “This is my only commandment: “love one another.” In the letter to the Romans, Paul says: ‘All the commandments … do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, they are summarized in these words: you will love your neighbour as yourself.’
How are we to live by this commandment of Jesus? First, Listen to him! To listen to the voice of the Lord, we must resolve to travel with him on the road from Galilee to Jerusalem.
Reading Mark’s Gospel is equivalent to making this journey. It may be that having reached the last page, and one does not yet dare to offer one’s life to Jesus. There is no need to be discouraged because of this; we must start all over again, starting again from Galilee.
Bible Claret