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Scripture Reflection
Jesus is asked to name the greatest commandment of the Law.
Gospel Reflection
Like last week’s gospel, we again have an example of the Pharisees seeking to ‘catch Jesus out’ in his interpretation of scripture. The Pharisees were regarded as the great interpreters of the Torah – the Law. To them, ALL the commandments were vitally important, not just the Ten Commandments given to Moses with which we are perhaps most familiar, but the 613 mitzvot (commandments) contained within the Torah – the first five books of the Bible. These 613 mitzvot governed all aspects of Jewish life. For the Pharisees to ask Jesus about the ‘greatest’ commandment was a blatant challenge to him. Perhaps they expected Jesus to name one commandment and then they could challenge him with a whole series of ‘What about …?’ questions.
Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees highlights their preoccupation with the particulars of the Law contained within scripture. In their over-emphasis on the details of religious observance, they have forgotten about the most basic element of faith: to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind. Jesus reminds them that being faithful to God isn’t about following precise rules but rather it is simply about loving God. With this one sentence, Jesus undermines the power position of the Pharisees. If the Law is as simple as ‘Love God’, what need is there of Pharisees to interpret the details of the Law? Having pulled the rug out from under them, Jesus follows up with his reminder that the second most important commandment is to love your neighbour as yourself. This is a call to compassion and justice that Jesus practised freely but was sadly lacking in the religious authorities of his time.
Scriptural context – Quoting scripture
The question and response that we see in this gospel passage was a common form of scholarly debate in the Jewish tradition. The Pharisees ask Jesus which of the commandments is the greatest. Jesus responds by directly quoting the commandment from the ancient scriptures. His reply, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind,’ comes directly from Deuteronomy 6:4. Further, Jesus’ followup, ‘you must love your neighbour as yourself,’ comes from Leviticus 19:18. Deuteronomy and Leviticus are two of the first five books of the Bible that make up the Jewish Torah, or Law.
Living the Gospel – Compassion
Jesus’ words call us to love our neighbour as ourselves. We are called to treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. To be able to do this, we need to picture ourselves in their place – experiencing all that they are experiencing; not imposing our own values and circumstances. To see ourselves in the place of another is the key to responding with compassion. The origin of the word ‘compassion’ means experiencing with. If we are able to truly ‘experience with’ another person perhaps then we can genuinely recognise and respond to their needs.