 AGREEMENT- What a breath of fresh air! A religious
leader in Mark’s account actually applauds Jesus’ answers as being on target (he
has undoubtedly observed Jesus’ response to the political question (vs. 13-17) and
the hypothetical posed by the Sadducees (vs. 18-27). Mark formulates the two statements of
approval almost identically: "seeing that he answered well" (v. 28) and
"seeing that he answered wisely" (v. 34).
GOD AND NEIGHBOR - The Great Commandment contains three key elements in Christian
faith: (a) belief in one God, (b) whole-hearted devotion to God, and (c) love of neighbor
. . . The exchange between Jesus and the scribe becomes itself something of an
illustration of the Great Commandment . . . Both the scribe and Jesus have stepped away
from the "us" versus "them" categories. Their mutual affirmation is an
island of reconciliation in a sea of hostility. The scribe recognizes Jesus as the great
Teacher; Jesus recognizes the scribe as a pilgrim moving toward the kingdom. Their lived
out common devotion to God and neighbor silences the debate (12:34). [1]
THE LOUDEST COMMAND - Hillel, the famous rabbi who died during Jesus’ childhood,
had distilled the requirements of the Law to this: "What you yourself hate, do not do
to your neighbor: this is the whole law, the rest is commentary." [2]
 Jesus’ response is thorough:
Love with kardia: the center of your passion/ emotions; love with all of your psuche: your
spiritual self; love with all of your dianoia: your mind-deep thought, understanding, and
imagination; and love with all of your ischus: all of the ability, force, or might you can
muster. In which of those areas can we improve the way we love God?
St. Bernard of Clairvoux frames the love of God as four ascending degrees: love of self
for self’s sake, love of God for self’s sake, love of God for God’s sake,
and love of self for God’s sake. We begin with a "bent" love, love turned
inward, but some eventually find themselves in difficulty and God intervenes; God
provides; then through a relationship that grows, we can love God whether or not God will
answer our wants-list or not and what God wants we begin to want-to love our neighbor; and
finally, we may discover a love of God so rich and wonderful that we forget completely our
own selves. Using Bernard’s categories where would you place your love of God at this
point in your life? Examples?
 Richard
Jensen suggests proclaiming this text within the larger context of the Temple. Story One:
quick review of Jesus’ entering Jerusalem and the Temple [3]; Mk. 11:11 Jesus enters
and cleans house! The fig tree is withered (11:20-21). As with the fig tree, so with the
temple-the days are numbered.
Story Two: today’s lesson. Retell story. Jesus’ call to love God and neighbor
is "more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." Jesus’
call to love God and neighbor is the heart of the matter in the kingdom he proclaims.
Story Three: relating the heart of the kingdom, loving God and neighbor, to the Parable
of the Sower. People who love God and neighbor are bearing the fruit of the seed which the
Sower has come to sow.
Conclusion: Loving God is the fruit of a life where the seed of God’s word has
been sown in us. Only the continued work of the Sower can bring true results.
__________________________________________________
[1] The New Interpreter’s Bible VIII (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995),
page 679.
[2] Scott Pinzen, God’s Word for the Biblically-Inept (Lancaster, PA: Starburst,
2001), page 236.
[3] Richard Jensen, Preaching Mark’s Gospel (Lima, OH: CSS Publishing, 1996), page
173.
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