Mark 12:29-33: a reflection

29Jesus answered, “The greatest is: ‘Hear, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31The second is like this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32The scribe said to him, “Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he; 33and to love him with all the heart, with all the understanding, all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

When asked which commandment is the greatest, Jesus gives not one but two, bound together. The first: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And the second, like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. All that God requires is summed up in these two loves: a whole-hearted love for God, and a love for our neighbor as ourselves. And the scribe rightly sees that this is more than all the outward offerings and sacrifices.

Notice what Jesus makes the heart of everything: love for God, and love for neighbor. Not outward observance, not ritual, not the keeping of many rules, but love, is the sum of what God requires: to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, wholly; and to love our neighbor as ourselves. These two loves are the heart of it all, greater than all outward religion, all sacrifices and offerings. What God requires is not chiefly outward acts, but love, for him and for our neighbor; everything else flows from these two.

That is worth taking to heart, for we can reduce our religion to outward observance and neglect the two loves that are its heart. We can keep the outward forms, the rules and observances, while our love for God is not whole-hearted and our love for neighbor is thin; but Jesus says these two loves are the greatest, the heart of all. Do not let your religion become mere outward observance while the two great loves grow cold; make loving God wholly and loving your neighbor as yourself the heart of your life, as Jesus made them the greatest commandments. Examine whether these two loves are truly at the heart of your life, or whether outward observance has crowded them out; and give yourself to loving God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself, for these two loves are the sum and heart of all God requires, greater than all outward religion.

Lord Jesus, when asked which commandment is the greatest, you give not one but two, bound together. The first: you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And the second, like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. All that God requires is summed up in these two loves. And the scribe rightly sees that this is more than all the outward offerings and sacrifices. Show me what you make the heart of everything: love for God, and love for neighbor. Not outward observance, not ritual, not the keeping of many rules, but love, is the sum of what God requires: to love God wholly, and to love my neighbor as myself. These two loves are the heart of it all, greater than all outward religion. Take that to my heart, for I can reduce my religion to outward observance and neglect the two loves that are its heart. I can keep the outward forms while my love for you is not whole-hearted and my love for neighbor is thin; but you say these two loves are the greatest. Keep me from letting my religion become mere outward observance while the two great loves grow cold; help me make loving you wholly and loving my neighbor as myself the heart of my life. Help me examine whether these two loves are truly at the heart of my life, Lord, and give myself to loving you with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength, and my neighbor as myself.