CoA Week 1
~Company of Angels~"...You have had a clear picture of Jesus Christ crucified, right in front of your eyes..." -Gal 3:1
Weekly Bible Reading
Mark 12:28-34
One of the scribes who had listened to them debating appreciated that Jesus had given a good answer and put a further question to Him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "This is the first: 'Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one, only 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.' The second is this: 'You must love your neighbour as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." The scribe said to Him, "Well spoken, Master; what You have said is true, that He is one and there is no other. To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice." Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to question Him anymore.
What is the Greatest Commandment?
What is the Second Greatest?
In what ways can we live out these Commandments in our everyday lives, practically?
For Memory:
"Jesus replied, 'This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one, only 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. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.'" (Mark 12:29-31)
Labels: Company of Angels, St. Andrew's
posted by Gregory at 3:45 p.m.
1 Comments:
The Greatest Commandment is to love God with everything that we are. Notably, Jesus also gives the second greatest commandment (though no one asked for that one): to love your neighbour as yourself. It shows that these two commandments are intrinsically tied together. St. John shows us how tied together they are in our reading for week 3.
I notice a few other interesting thing about this passage:
First, Jesus calls the scribe wise, even though all the scribe did was agree with Jesus. The Scribe didn't add one original thought to what Jesus had said, yet Jesus didn't consider him a copy-cat or suck-up, but "wise". We can't outdo Jesus. True wisdom comes in following Him, and listening to His teaching.
Second, I'll repeat the thought of St. Augustine, in his work, De Trinitate (since I don't actually own it, I'm paraphrasing, not quoting...
What did Jesus mean by telling the scribe that he was not far from the kingdom of God? He was close, but he had not yet attained it. What more was lacking? The scribe, in stating that God was the only God, recognised that fact. What he had still to recognise was that the one to whom he was speaking, whom he addressed as Master, was that very God. That is why, once the crowds stop questioning Jesus, Jesus continues to teach, seeming to abruptly switch topics (Mark 12:35-37), asking about how the Messiah can be the Son of David if Scripture plainly calls Him David's Lord. The point is that Jesus is pointing out that He Himself is the One, true God.
Faith in Christ is the fulfilment of the Greatest Commandment. And we demonstrate our love for and faith in Him by our love for and service of our neighbour.
Finally, no one dared to continue questioning Christ. Even those who refuse to believe in Christianity have trouble refuting it. Mainly, 'cause it's the truth.
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