by Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
Martin Luther.”
v28A teacher of the Law was there who heard the discussion. He saw that Jesus had given the Sadducees a good answer, so he came to him with a question: “Which commandment is the most important of all?”
v29Jesus replied, “The most important one is this: ‘Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. v30Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ v31The second most important commandment is this: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment more important than these two.”
v32The teacher of the Law said to Jesus, “Well done, Teacher! It is true, as you say, that only the Lord is God and that there is no other god but he. v33And you must love God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength; and you must love your neighbor as you love yourself. It is more important to obey these two commandments than to offer on the altar animals and other sacrifices to God.” v34Jesus noticed how wise his answer was, and so he told him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” After this nobody dared to ask Jesus any more questions. – Mark 12:24-34
If the social media is to be the source, we have a lot to catch up if we are to qualify to the heavenly abode. Facebook postings alone are a lot of contradictions on what Jesus said and taught in our gospel lesson this last day of October 2021(23rd Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 26B). The gist of the gospel is about RELATIONSHIP: our relationship with God and other people. While there are many posts on Biblical verses and some religious thoughts, there are equally numerous postings that denies good relationship with our fellow human beings. I may be puritanical in this observation but if we look deeply at the issues and reactions in Facebook and other media platforms love of God and neighbor is unashamedly violated. The focus of these communications are self-interest, self-preservation and accolade.
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In the earlier verses of this chapter, some Pharisees and other people of evil scheme came to Jesus and force him to a debate in order to trap him. The topics included paying taxes and about the resurrection. One of the teachers of the law noticed how Jesus answered well and asked him another question to entrap him, “Of all the commandments, which is the greatest?” And Jesus answered in the above verses which are a quotation from the book of Deuteronomy and Leviticus which is known to the Jews as the Shema, their faith confession. It is a confession about love of God and neighbor. To the present-day Christians, it is known as the ‘Greatest Commandment’.
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We need to remember that the word love in this context is not the kind of love we too often think about today. Loving with the whole heart isn’t the emotional, huggy-kissy kind of love we find on greeting cards, advertisements and tik -toks. Loving with the heart in the scriptures first of all meant being loyal. So Jesus was talking about being loyal to God – to God’s laws – to the promises of the covenant the people made with God. Included with being loyal to God was being loyal to your neighbor. Because they knew their scriptures, the Jews knew that being loyal to their neighbor meant that they would care for their neighbor, fight oppression, feed the hungry, make provision for the poor, the widow and the orphan. No one would have a surplus where others were going hungry. Maybe the Sadducees were afraid that if they asked any more questions, Jesus would point out to them that they were not doing too good a job as religious leaders in showing others how to care for those in need. Are we?
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According to Desmond Knowles ‘religion is about going up to God and out to our neighbors at the same time’. I agree. Love of God is so interwoven with love of our neighbors that it is a difficult balance to achieve. If we don’t strike the happy medium we can easily separate religion from life. To say our prayers and attend Sunday Mass, while ignoring our neighbor, is a mere half-hearted response to God’s love, which presents no challenge. It amounts to slicing the commandments down the middle and living with half the gospel. Worshipping God in isolation makes a mockery of religion, likewise love of our neighbor, which has no reference to and does not proceed from the love of God, comes to nothing more than a form of refined self-love. It is also called politicking or campaigning. Sounds familiar?
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The greatest commandment is about loving God and our neighbor. Love should be the answer and everything would be all right. But we look at our world. We look at our city – even in our own churches. What’s the problem? What don’t we understand in this command? If we believe what Jesus is saying to this scribe, we have to admit that love is the answer. But to really understand what Jesus is saying, we need to define what we mean by love and perhaps more importantly we need to define who our neighbor is. First, we need to understand that the love Jesus is talking about has to do with loyalty. It’s a commitment to living the kind of life Jesus lives. Jesus is telling his followers that to love God is to be loyal to God both when it’s easy and when it’s difficult. We must be willing to be loyal to the end no matter what. But even if we can wrap our minds around the concept of being loyal to God — of trying to live a godly life — we have to remember that this love, this loyalty is bound up, as Jesus says, in loving our neighbor. We can’t choose to do one or the other. Loyalty is not about a certain political candidate or color. It is about loyalty to ourselves which is seen in our loyalty to our fellow humans.
This loyalty is best translated in the love of our neighbor even as we love ourselves. Huwag po tayong balimbing!
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This year’s observance of All Saints and All Souls days is on Monday and Tuesday respectively. This will be the second year that these celebrations are under the regulated mode because of the lingering pandemic. The Inter-Agency Task Force that manages the responses against the COVID19 virus declared that cemeteries are off limits from October 29 until the 5th of November except for burials. Relatives of the faithful departed may offer flowers and candles in the tombs earlier or after the customary days and contrary to centuries-held tradition due to the restrictions. But let us not forget the meaning or spirit of the feasts of All Saints and All Souls even if they are now observed abnormally in the new normal due to health protocols.
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We are not far from the Kingdom of God if we strive to follow the Great Commandments. The reward for the children of God is best described by St. John in the Book of Revelations. He has this vision of a great multitude standing “before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.” These are the saints, “who have survived the time of distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-11) tell us that those who are poor in spirit, those who mourn, who are meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, are children of God. And as his children, they will be rewarded before his throne, before the lamb. These are the saints we commemorate on Monday, All Saints Day.
But traditionally we visit our departed loved ones on All Saints day. I can only surmise that we do so because we believe that our deceased loved ones had also their own goodness and sacrifices for the sake of righteousness. In their own way they had also loved God and their neighbors. We believe that they too are children of God and we pray that they will rewarded in heaven just the same with the saints.
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There are people crying all around us, people approaching the point of desperation. But many of their cries go unheard. The noise of the self-oriented machinery of our culture is drowning them out and they are dying. The world needs the merciful. We all need someone who will identify with us. Someone who will hear our cry, listen, have empathy, and care. We all need to have an attitude of mercy and to be the recipients of such an attitude! As Shakespeare said:
The quality of mercy is not strained;
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven Upon the place beneath:
it is twice blest, It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.
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A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing. – Martin Luther.
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As we contemplate on the gospel lesson of the Great Commandment and as we also remember all the saints and our faithful departed, let us remind ourselves of what Jesus taught us.
Then Jesus took his disciples up the mountain and gathered them around. He taught them saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are they that mourn.
Blessed are the merciful.
Blessed are they who thirst for justice.
Blessed are you when persecuted.
Blessed are you when you suffer.
Be glad and rejoice for your reward is great in heaven.
Then Simon Peter said, “Are we supposed to write this down?”
And Andrew asked, “Are we supposed to know this?”
And James asked, “Will we have a test on this?”
And Phillip said, “I don’t have any paper.”
And Bartholomew asked, “Do we have to turn this in?”
And John said, “The other disciples didn’t have to learn this.”
And Matthew asked, “Can I go to the boys’ room?”
And Judas asked, “What does this have to do with real life?”
Then one of the Pharisees who was present asked to see Jesus’ lesson plan and inquired of Jesus, “Where is your objectives and lesson plan?”
And Jesus wept.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical Body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (All Saints Collect)
Almighty God, we remember before you today all your faithful servants departed this life; and we pray that, having opened to them the gates of larger life, you will receive them more and more into your joyful service, that, with all who have faithfully served you in the past, they may share in the eternal victory of Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (All Souls Collect)**
