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Sunday Scrpture Study

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle B

November 4, 2012

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Opening Prayer

First Reading: Deuteronomy 6:2-6

Psalm: 18:2-4,47,51

Second Reading: Hebrews 7:23-28

Gospel Reading: Mark 12:28b-34

Last week we heard about blind Bartimaeus in Jericho (Mark 10:45-52). We now fast-forward two chapters later. Jesus is now in Jerusalem and in the midst of his opponents, the scribes, Pharisees, and Saducees; it is after his triumphal entry (on Palm Sunday, Mark 11:1-10) and before his Passion (Holy Thursday, Mark 14:12ff).

The scribes were the scholars and intellectuals of Judaism. Their scholarship was the knowledge of the Jewish Law, which they regarded as the sum of wisdom and the only true learning. Their position in the Jewish community was a respected position of leadership.

Jesus was a threat to their influence which is why most New Testament references show them hostile to him. This Sunday’s story is unique in that it portrays a friendly, rather than a controversial, discussion between Jesus and a scribe.

This particular scribe has been impressed with Jesus’ earlier reply to the Saducees, another religious group that opposed Jesus (Mark 12:18-27). This scribe wants to learn more.

QUESTIONS:

In the 2^nd Reading, we are told that Christ, our High Priest, is sinless and perfectly holy.What does it mean to be “holy”? In what respect can you call all priests holy? In what does their holiness consist?

In the Gospel Reading, why are these two commandments (verses 29-31) the greatest? How do the Ten Commandments relate to these two?

Why do you think Jesus emphasized loving God with our heart, soul, and mind? How is loving God related to loving other people?

What do you think Jesus meant by telling the scribe that he was “not far” from the kingdom of God? Was Jesus commenting on his understanding of theology, or his faith?

In the three possibilities of love relationships (with God, neighbors, and self), where are you the strongest? The weakest?

What does it mean to love your neighbor as you do yourself? How do you love yourself? How does that apply to the way you love your neighbor?

Catechism of the Catholic Church: §§ 202, 228, 2196, 2816-2821

‘Whoever does not love does not know God.’ Why? Because ‘God is Love.’ (1 John 4:7) What more can be said, my Brothers? If one did not find one word in praise of love through this epistle, nor the least word throughout all the other pages of Scripture, and we heard only this one word from the voice of the Spirit of God: Because 'God is Love,' we should seek for nothing more. -St. Augustine

Hear O Israel, and Remember!

Pastor’s Column

31^st Sunday Ordinary Time

November 4, 2012

“Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone!

You shall love the Lord your God

with all your soul, with all your mind, with all your heart, with all your strength.

The second is this:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Mark 12:28-30

What are the guiding principles of my life? Christ makes it clear that if we put what is important to God first, God will guide everything else and we will be prepared for eternal life! If my life is not pleasing to God, on the other hand, I will be like a shopping cart with a bent wheel—that wants to go its own way, or a pen that skips and doesn’t write as it was meant to.

The Jews call the first part of this passage the great shema, which is Hebrew for hear. To this day pious Jews can sometimes be seen placing this text over a doorframe of their house (a mezuzah) or wearing it on their wrists or foreheads in little boxes (phylacteries). How differently we might live if we had this scripture as the first thing we read when opening our cell phone or when leaving the house! And what a great way to end the day: a brief review of how I loved God, and how I loved my neighbor.

Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta once pointed out that it is much easier for us to love our neighbor who is far away than the one who is close by. It is wonderful to donate to charities that help the poor or distressed that we will never meet, but what about my “neighbors” around me? This can be a bit more problematic at times.

Prayer and Mass attendance are essential in the life of an active Catholic, but the only way we can know for sure that we love God is when we come out of church or prayer and are driving home! My “neighbors” are all the people God has given me in my life: work, family, extended relatives, friends, people at church, acquaintances, and people we meet by chance each day (especially the problematic ones). When you think about it, these people and the interactions we have with them are the primary vehicles by which we will demonstrate our love for God in this world. In fact, our entire future in heaven depends precisely on how we treat others. We have heard once again what is most important to God, but will we remember?

Father Gary