Daily Bible: The Laws of Love

In today’s first reading, Deuteronomy 2:2-6, we hear Moses exhorting the Hebrew people to not only obey the Law of God but to love it. He also sums up the purpose of the Law with words that become the central prayer of the Jewish faith, called the Shema (which means “Hear):

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!
Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your strength.

Many people think that love was a new idea taught by Jesus. The truth is, love was the original purpose of the Law of God. Jesus came to fulfill that purpose by making a new way to love through the grace of charity.

Psalm 18:2-4, 47-51 reinforces the theme of love. It’s basically a love song to God.

The second reading from Hebrews 7:23-28 continues the theme from Hebrews we’ve been hearing in the Holy Mass for many days now – Jesus the perfect priest. Today we hear that Jesus is the perfect priest because He is the eternal priest who had the power to offer Himself once and for all. I encourage you to review the entire chapter 7 of Hebrew and meditate on it in light of the Holy Eucharist. It’s a beautiful meditation on how much our Lord loves us, and how perfectly He fulfills the requirements of salvation.

In the Gospel from Mark 12:28-34 we hear Jesus being asked by a Pharisee which is the greatest Commandment? Jesus responds with the Shema. I like to think the Pharisee was expecting Jesus to answer with one of the Ten. That’s what my children do when I ask them what Jesus said. But when Jesus answers with the Shema, the Pharisee immediately sees the wisdom of the Lord’s words, how the purpose and meaning of God’s Law is summed up in the Law of Love. Jesus also added “The second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” This was also not a new idea. Jesus was quoting from Leviticus. But this second law was not codified by the Hebrew People the way the Shema was. By saying that the second law was like the first, Jesus was preparing us for the grace to love our neighbor as a participation in the love of God.

One final thought – when the Pharisee praises Jesus’ answer, Jesus replies, “You are not far from the kingdom.” I often wonder about that statement. Pharisees assumed they were the closest to the Kingdom of God. Jesus and Saint John the Baptist both criticise them for their hypocrisy. So was Jesus’ statement a backhanded compliment meant to humble the Pharisee and bring him closer to the Kingdom? Maybe this was like his statement to the rich young man that only one thing was lacking.