Fr Christophe NDIWE CHIZA, sx
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time- Cycle B
October 31st, 2021
This Sunday’s Gospel gives us the content of the dialogue between Jesus and an anonymous scribe.
“Which is the first of all the commandments?” This doctor of the law wanted to know from Jesus, which commandment is the greatest. In view of all of our social and liturgical regulations and practices, one might also ask the question in this way: what is the most important thing in our way of living faith? Is it baptism? Is it going to the mass regularly or being sacramental? Is it the rigorous observance of the church’s prohibitions or commandments? These questions are pertinent and relevant. And let us take a look to the answer of Jesus.
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, ……. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12, 29-31.
Jesus answered by quoting the Bible, the Jewish prayer called “SHEMA ISRAEL” from the book of the Deuteronomy 6: 4-5, and the love of neighbor from the book of Leviticus 19, 18. The answer given by Jesus interrogates our lives and challenges our living. Jesus insists in the practice of love which goes beyond human regulations and laws. We are living in the church and in the society dominated by the practice and the observance of laws. Jesus is telling us that all of our laws in the church and in our society must be made and done out love. In the context of the Corona virus pandemic there are so many laws and regulations which we are called to observe. And what comes to my mind is this maxim of Roman civil law which says: “Dura lex, Sed lex”, which can be translated by: “the law is hard, but it remains law.” We would like also to have the opinion of Jesus about all of the human laws which regulate our lives nowadays. There are some laws which are made out of laws and not out of love. However, as Christians we are called to do what we have to do out of love.
“You shall love the Lord your God…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The love of our neighbors has been instituted as a new commandment by Jesus. Let us say through the theological reflection of the theologian Karl Rahner that the Love of God involves also the love of our neighbors. And Saint John underlines that: “If you say, ‘I love God’ while you hate your brother or sister, you are a liar.” 1 John 4: 20a. The love for God and the love for our neighbors are fundamental in our Christian lives and faith. We cannot separate or oppose them. However, the reality of our daily lives seems to show that it is very easy to love God than to love our neighbors. It is in this context that this answer of Jesus interrogates our Christian lives and challenges our practicing faith through our beautiful liturgical celebrations.
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” Mark 12, 34. Jesus as a doctor of true love affirms the conclusion made by the doctor of the law. Indeed, not being far from the Kingdom of God consists of making a connection and a relationship between the love of God and the Love of our neighbors. I would like to emphasize that the English translation of the “Kingdom of God” in this short and powerful answer of Jesus can be misleading. The Kingdom of God refers to the Greec word “basileia” which is related to the “Reign of God”. The Kingdom of God in this context is not a location from which we are far or close of. It is not a place where God lives or where people would like to live. The Kingdom or the Reign of God is a phenomenon which refers to a reality that cannot be prescribed by space or time. The Kingdom of God is present in our lives all the times that we love our neighbors and we accept the will of God in our lives. The preaching and the urging of the coming of the Kingdom of God remain necessary at a time as swirling as ours, full of din, anxieties due to natural disasters and corona virus pandemic in spite of the technological innovations. May this nearness of God’s Kingdom lead human kind to a point of non-return where love and universal brotherhood shall kiss in order to bear witness to our Christian faith. And may the search of the Kingdom of God become the reality of our daily lives and the perpetual happiness of our souls.
31st Sunday in Ordinary Time- Cycle B
October 31st, 2021
This Sunday’s Gospel gives us the content of the dialogue between Jesus and an anonymous scribe.
“Which is the first of all the commandments?” This doctor of the law wanted to know from Jesus, which commandment is the greatest. In view of all of our social and liturgical regulations and practices, one might also ask the question in this way: what is the most important thing in our way of living faith? Is it baptism? Is it going to the mass regularly or being sacramental? Is it the rigorous observance of the church’s prohibitions or commandments? These questions are pertinent and relevant. And let us take a look to the answer of Jesus.
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, ……. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Mark 12, 29-31.
Jesus answered by quoting the Bible, the Jewish prayer called “SHEMA ISRAEL” from the book of the Deuteronomy 6: 4-5, and the love of neighbor from the book of Leviticus 19, 18. The answer given by Jesus interrogates our lives and challenges our living. Jesus insists in the practice of love which goes beyond human regulations and laws. We are living in the church and in the society dominated by the practice and the observance of laws. Jesus is telling us that all of our laws in the church and in our society must be made and done out love. In the context of the Corona virus pandemic there are so many laws and regulations which we are called to observe. And what comes to my mind is this maxim of Roman civil law which says: “Dura lex, Sed lex”, which can be translated by: “the law is hard, but it remains law.” We would like also to have the opinion of Jesus about all of the human laws which regulate our lives nowadays. There are some laws which are made out of laws and not out of love. However, as Christians we are called to do what we have to do out of love.
“You shall love the Lord your God…You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The love of our neighbors has been instituted as a new commandment by Jesus. Let us say through the theological reflection of the theologian Karl Rahner that the Love of God involves also the love of our neighbors. And Saint John underlines that: “If you say, ‘I love God’ while you hate your brother or sister, you are a liar.” 1 John 4: 20a. The love for God and the love for our neighbors are fundamental in our Christian lives and faith. We cannot separate or oppose them. However, the reality of our daily lives seems to show that it is very easy to love God than to love our neighbors. It is in this context that this answer of Jesus interrogates our Christian lives and challenges our practicing faith through our beautiful liturgical celebrations.
“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” Mark 12, 34. Jesus as a doctor of true love affirms the conclusion made by the doctor of the law. Indeed, not being far from the Kingdom of God consists of making a connection and a relationship between the love of God and the Love of our neighbors. I would like to emphasize that the English translation of the “Kingdom of God” in this short and powerful answer of Jesus can be misleading. The Kingdom of God refers to the Greec word “basileia” which is related to the “Reign of God”. The Kingdom of God in this context is not a location from which we are far or close of. It is not a place where God lives or where people would like to live. The Kingdom or the Reign of God is a phenomenon which refers to a reality that cannot be prescribed by space or time. The Kingdom of God is present in our lives all the times that we love our neighbors and we accept the will of God in our lives. The preaching and the urging of the coming of the Kingdom of God remain necessary at a time as swirling as ours, full of din, anxieties due to natural disasters and corona virus pandemic in spite of the technological innovations. May this nearness of God’s Kingdom lead human kind to a point of non-return where love and universal brotherhood shall kiss in order to bear witness to our Christian faith. And may the search of the Kingdom of God become the reality of our daily lives and the perpetual happiness of our souls.